Washington Nationals Secure Coaching Staff for 2025

Prior to the second game of their series against the Orioles in Baltimore, Nationals manager Davey Martinez announced that the entire coaching staff would be returning for the 2025 season. Martinez emphasized the importance of making this decision early to ensure stability as the organization continues to rebuild, with hopes of returning to competitiveness in the near future.

"Everyone’s coming back," Martinez confirmed. "We re-signed all of our coaches for another year, and I think that’s fantastic." Now in his seventh season leading the Nationals, Martinez praised his staff for their hard work in developing the team's younger players. "They've been dedicated every day to helping these guys improve, and they’ve done an incredible job. I’m really proud of them, and I wanted to make sure they’d be back."

An Early Decision for Continuity

Instead of waiting until the offseason, Martinez, along with General Manager and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo and team ownership, opted to finalize this move sooner. "I really wanted to get it done now," Martinez explained. "This way, there’s unity within the team, and the players know their coaches will be here moving forward. I truly believe we have a great group that works well together, and they’ve been instrumental in developing our younger players."

With this stability in place, the coaching staff will have more time to evaluate promising prospects and assess the talent acquired through trades, free-agent signings, and recent drafts. This will allow them to determine which players will be part of the team’s future and where additional reinforcements might be needed.

Martinez, Rizzo, and ownership appear confident in the direction the team is headed. "I'm really grateful that ownership and Rizzo decided to handle this now instead of waiting," Martinez said. "At least now, our younger guys know these coaches will be here, continuing to work hard and help them develop for the future."

Recent Coaching Staff Changes

Last offseason, Martinez made several adjustments to his staff, bringing in Miguel Cairo as Bench Coach, Ricky Gutierrez as Third Base Coach, Chris Johnson as Assistant Hitting Coach, and Gerardo Parra as First Base Coach. Former Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle also joined as a pitching advisor.https://www.rockiesshirts.com/Jake_Bird_Shirt-179

"I wanted to bring in guys I knew and trusted," Martinez shared. "People like Doolittle and Parra, as well as Ricky, who has been in this organization before and has a great understanding of infield play. They’ve all done a fantastic job. Some of them aren’t that far removed from their playing careers, so they relate well to the players and bring great energy to the club."

The defining trait of his staff, according to Martinez, is their dedication to the players. "They genuinely care about our guys, and they put in the extra hours, arriving early every day to prepare. The way they communicate and work with our players has been outstanding."

A Tough Finish Against Baltimore

Unfortunately, the Nationals weren’t able to celebrate the coaching staff’s return with a win. They fell to the Orioles 4-1, settling for a series split.

"We didn’t have a great offensive performance tonight," Martinez admitted after the loss. The Nationals managed just five hits and one run, going 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position while leaving five men on base. "Their pitcher, Dean Kremer, kept us off-balance all night. Yesterday, we were locked in and hitting the ball well, but today we just couldn’t get much going."

Despite the loss, a split against the AL East-leading Orioles (71-50) could be seen as a sign of progress for the Nationals (55-66), especially considering their struggles against Baltimore in previous seasons. "It’s all part of the process," Martinez noted. "But we’re seeing progress. Our young players are starting to figure things out, and we’re competing hard every game. We’re improving, and I love how our team is battling every day. We’re getting better."