The Washington Nationals have named Miguel Cairo of Anaco, Venezuela as their new interim manager on Monday according to Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors. Cairo replaces Dave Martinez of Brooklyn, New York, who was fired on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Nationals also fired general manager Mike Rizzo of Chicago, Illinois and replaced him with interim general manager Michael DeBartolo of Boston, Massachusetts.
Why the firing?
The Nationals were last in the National League East with a record of 37 wins and 53 losses for a winning percentage of .411. The Nationals were swept by the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, where they were outscored 27-9.
Miguel Cairo’s managing and coaching experience
This is Cairo’s second managerial job in Major League Baseball. He was previously the manager of the Chicago White Sox in 2022. Cairo had a record of 18 wins and 16 losses for a winning percentage of .529. He took over from Hall of Famer Tony La Russa of Tampa, Florida, who left the White Sox during the season because of a medical condition. It should be noted that the White Sox did not bring Cairo back to manage the team in 2023, and was replaced by Pedro Grifol of Miami, Florida. Over the last three seasons, the White Sox have been awful as they have a record of 132 wins and 283 losses for a horrendous winning percentage of .325. Cairo has also been the bench coach for the White Sox in 2021 and 2022, and held that same role for the last year and a half with the Nationals.
Cairo’s administrative duties
Cairo was an assistant general manager and bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds from 2013 to 2017. He was also the Minor League Infield Coordinator for the New York Yankees in 2020, and the New York Mets in 2023.
Who did Cairo play for?
Cairo played 17 seasons in the Major Leagues, primarily as a second baseman from 1996 to 2012. In that time, Cairo played for nine franchises. He was with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996, the Chicago Cubs in 1997 and 2001, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1998 to 2000, the St. Louis Cardinals from 2001 to 2003 and 2007, the New York Yankees in 2004, 2006 and 2007, the New York Mets in 2005, the Seattle Mariners in 2008, the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009, and the Cincinnati Reds from 2010 to 2012.
Cairo’s MLB playing statistics
Cairo batted .264 with 41 home runs and 394 runs batted in. During 1490 games, 3956 at bats and 4392 plate appearances, he scored 504 runs, and had 1044 hits, 193 doubles, 34 triples, 139 stolen bases, 243 walks, 1428 total bases, 86 sacrifice bunts, 43 sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .314, and a slugging percentage of .361.
