Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo will not get the permanent job, AP source says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo, who replaced the fired Dave Martinez in July, will not get the job on a permanent basis, and members of his coaching staff are being let go, too, a person with knowledge of the moves told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because nothing had been announced about Washington’s plans for its on-field leadership next season.

The changes include the departures of pitching coach Jim Hickey, hitting coach Darnell Coles, bullpen coach Ricky Bones, first base coach Gerardo Parra — of “Baby Shark” fame — and third base coach Ricky Gutierrez.

The Washington Post first reported that Cairo and the coaches would not stay in their positions.

Word of the overhaul comes less than a month after Paul Toboni was introduced as the Nationals’ new president of baseball operations.

Washington fired president and general manager Mike Rizzo and Martinez in July. The team in the nation’s capital has gone through six consecutive losing seasons since winning the World Series in 2019, including a 66-96 record in 2025 that put Washington 14th out of 15 clubs in the National League.

At the news conference at Nationals Park on Oct. 1 to announce the hiring of Toboni, who had been an assistant general manager with the Boston Red Sox, Washington owner Mark Lerner said: “We’re not happy where we are right now. That’s why we brought in Paul. And we’re going to get back to where we’re supposed to be. … Don’t give up on us; we’re going to be there again. Guaranteed.”

Toboni said that day he wanted to talk to Cairo before speaking publicly about plans for the managing role.

Cairo, a close friend of Martinez’s, had been the Nationals’ bench coach since last year.

Hickey’s first season as Washington’s pitching coach was 2021; Coles started as the hitting coach the following year.

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