On Wednesday, Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez announced that the entire coaching staff will return in 2025. Martinez has been the Nationals’ skipper since 2018 and will be returning for his eighth season with the ballclub.
Dave Martinez just announced that the whole major league staff will return next season.
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) August 14, 2024
Nationals Manager Dave Martinez and Entire Coaching Staff to Return in 2025
Martinez will remain with Washington in 2025 along with the rest of the coaching staff, which includes pitching coach Jim Hickey, hitting coach Darnell Coles, bench coach Miguel Cairo, first base coach Gerardo Parra, third base coach Ricky Gutierrez, catching and strategy coach Henry Blanco, bullpen coach Ricky Bones, pitching strategist Sean Doolittle, and assistant coach Chris Johnson.
According to MASN’s Mark Zuckerman, the coaching staff all signed their contracts prior to Tuesday’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, while Martinez made it public on Wednesday afternoon, ensuring that his full staff will not only return for another season but was made aware long before this current season ends.
Martinez will be returning for a club-leading eighth season with the Nationals and has been through a lot during his tenure, as he led the team to a World Series championship in 2019, but has had a losing record in four straight years since. This season, Washington somewhat exceeded expectations with a pretty solid first half, but has since sputtered to another losing record so far.
What This Could Mean for the 2025 Season
With Martinez and the entire coaching staff returning, along with the team’s farm system developing well, the Nationals should be on the right track considering outfielder Dylan Crews will have likely made his major league debut late in the 2024 season, joining current rookie James Wood and either Jacob Young or Alex Call in the outfield.
Washington’s batting lineup will most likely also include Wood, Crews, CJ Abrams, Luis Garcia Jr., and current prospect Brady House, as well as a rotation that would include MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, and current rookies Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz. It is also possible that the Nationals could make a move on current New York Yankee Juan Soto, who played for Washington from 2018-2022 and will be a free agent after this season, so the coaching staff would have a lot to work with for next season.
Photo Credit: © Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
