Nats Chat

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Nationals hired the youngest Manager in over 50 years. Mark & Al discuss the news that Washington will soon name 33-year-old Blake Butera as the team's next skipper.  The surprising hire comes from the Rays organization and his only previous managerial experience was in Low-A. Butera was drafted in the 35th Round out of Boston College but became a minor league manager at age 25.

(14:10) A look at some of the other candidates in the interview process.

(22:00) Going over Butera's resume in MLB, who was Tampa Bay's Director of Player Development in 2025. 

(29:15) Who will be on Butera's Coaching Staff?

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Tim Shovers with a quick reminder about the end of season Podcast Party.  This Friday night, October 10th, at 7pm at Walter's Sports Bar in Navy Yard.  

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The Nationals began a new era on Wednesday morning as Paul Toboni was officially introduced as the new President of Baseball Operations.  Mark & Al react to Toboni's first time meeting with the D.C. media in the press room at the ballpark.  Toboni was joined on the podium by three members of ownership in Mark Lerner, Ed Cohen, and Robert Tanenbaum.

(07:00) Spending by ownership was brought up multiple times during the press conference.  

(15:35) Toboni's answer on if he will hire a General Manager beneath him.  Mike DeBartolo was in attendance at the press conference.

(21:20) Toboni's response about the young talent within the franchise.

(24:00) Discussion on the managerial situation and what Toboni had to say about interim skipper Miguel Cairo.

(36:45) How should Toboni handle the current staff within the Front Office?

(39:05) NATS CHAT PODCAST PARTY ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 10TH AT 7PM AT WALTER'S.  FIRST BEER ON THE HOUSE!

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The Nats closed their last place season on a sour note as they were shutout 8-0 on Sunday afternoon by the visiting White Sox. Mark & Al put the 66 win campaign under a wide-angle lens on the heels of their 14th shutout defeat. It should be a more active October than the past few years as they remake the front office and likely will make a change at manager.

(13:20) Hear what Dylan Crews said afterwards as he seems to be gearing up for more of a leadership role on the team.

(21:15) James Wood went 0 for 3 and struck out in every at-bat.  Wood finishes the year w/ 221 strike outs, by far the most in Baseball, but still two shy of Mark Reynolds' record from 2009.

(23:45) A wrap-up of just how the bad the Washington relief pitching was this season.

(32:00) A thank you to our great listeners as our numbers grew this season on the podcast despite the terrible performance on the field. 

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The Nats overcame an early four-run deficit to edge the White Sox 6-5 on Saturday afternoon. Mark & Al begin with an ode to Bob Carpenter, who is calling his final Nats games this weekend for MASN. Carpenter was honored prior to the game after 20 years of being the TV voice of the team.

(10:00) James Wood hit his 31st homer to take the lead for good in the bottom of the 7th. Wood has four homers this week to end his season on a high note.

(15:00) "Mr. September" was at again as Daylen Lile bolstered his NL Rookie of the Year with his 8th home run of the month.  Hear how Lile's season stacks up against the other top candidates for the award.

(20:10) Josh Bell & CJ Abrams are surprisingly neck and neck for OPS this season (.751/.752).

(23:00) Jake Irvin allowed four runs in six inning to close his season.  Irvin's rough 2025 ends with a 5.70 ERA and his future in the rotation is in jeopardy.

(29:15) Julian Fernandez pitched a perfect top of the 7th and that led to earning his 1st career Big League win.  Fernandez was picked up off of waivers in Mid August after he was DFA'd by the Dodgers. Jose A. Ferrer recorded a bumpy save one night after blowing it in the 9th. 

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The Nats rallied all the way back from a seven run deficit, but Jose A. Ferrer could not close the door in the 10-9 loss to the White Sox. Mark & Al gather after maybe the craziest game of the season that saw the Nationals hit six homers, but also commit four errors.

(06:00) Luis Garcia Jr. hit a trio of homers for the first time in his career.  Garcia's third homer of the night briefly put them up 9-8 in the bottom of the 8th.  The last time Washington lost when a player hit three homers in a game was in 2013 in Baltimore when Ryan Zimmerman went deep three times.

(09:05) Daylen Lile tied the game with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 8th.  Lile is having an all-time month as he has five homers and seven triples in September.

(13:20) CJ Abrams & Josh Bell each went deep, but both committed errors in the top of the 1st. Abrams is now up to 19 homers; one behind his total last season.

(19:30) Cade Cavalli finished his season on a bit of a down note as Chicago tagged him for four unanswered runs in the top of the 1st. Cavalli ended up making ten starts with the Nats after his very long rehab from Tommy John surgery.

(24:10) Ferrer's disastrous 9th inning began with a throwing error from the lefty; before have gave up the game deciding 2-run HR to Colson Montgomery.

(26:45) When should we expect the formal announcement about Paul Toboni taking over as Head of Baseball Operations?

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The Nats won 4-3 in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon, but the major news came from ESPN's Jeff Passan.  Mark & Al spend plenty of time reacting to the report that Paul Toboni, Red Sox Asst. GM, will take over as Washington's new head of Baseball Operations. Toboni is 35 years old and has spent the last decade working in the Red Sox Front Office.

(21:10) James Wood homered twice to reach the 30 home run milestone.  Wood homered as many times this series (three) as he had in the past two months.  Wood also did not strike out all series and remains eight Ks behind Mark Reynolds' 2009 record pace.

(25:50) Josh Bell hit his 21st homer of the season in the win. It is the 5th year in which Bell surpassed the 20 homer plateau.

(30:20) Andrew Alvarez lasted until the bottom of the 5th and did not allow a run.  Alvarez was called up on Labor Day and had 2.31 ERA in five starts.

(35:30) Jose A. Ferrer notched his 7th Save of the month and his 10th of the season. It was a rough day for the bullpen as they allowed a trio of Braves solo homers. 

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The Nats fell short 3-2 on Tuesday night as the Braves have now won ten games in a row.  Al & Tim begin with James Wood's 28th homer of the season, just his 4th since the All-Star Break.  Wood did not strikeout and remains eight Ks shy of Mark Reynolds' single season record.

(08:00) Luis Garcia Jr. played 1B on Tuesday as it seems like his days at 2B are coming to an end. Daylen Lile was also in the lineup just a few days after exiting Sunday's game early due to a knee contusion.

(15:10) The Nationals yet again unsuccessfully attempted a staggered double steal with runners on the corners. This came in the top of the 4th as Washington was unable to increase their one-run lead.

(17:30) Brad Lord pitched well, but the two solo homers he allowed led to him taking his 9th loss of the year.  Lord's ERA is at 4.12 as is his season is likely over. Could Lord win Nationals Pitcher of the Year this upcoming weekend?

(22:30) MacKenzie Gore's season is also over as he was placed on the IL due to an ankle impingement.  Gore made the All-Star Game, but his ERA continued to climb in the back half of the year. Gore did set a career high with 185 strikeouts; four more than he had last season.

(30:00) Reaction to MLB instituting an ABS challenge system for 2026.  ABS stands for "Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System" and would serve as a version of Robo Umps. 

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The Nats were no match for the Braves in Monday's 11-5 loss. Al & Tim convene after the Nationals pitching staff needed six pitchers just to make it through six innings and combined for nine issued walks.

(06:00) MacKenzie Gore was pulled in the top of the 3rd after having already thrown 71 pitches.  The Braves lineup fouled off 24 of them and now Gore's ERA is up to 4.17.

(09:00) The bullpen really struggled until Shinnosuke Ogasawara stabilzed the final few innings.  Jackson Rutledge was the first reliever out of the 'pen, but gave up three runs while only recording one out.

(13:45) Both James Wood & Daylen Lile were out of the lineup in the series opener.  Lile suffered a left knee contusion in Sunday's victory in New York. CJ Abrams did return after jamming shoulder on Saturday, but served as the DH as opposed to taking the field.

(15:45) Nasim Nuñez & Dylan Crews each homered in the loss.  Nuñez played at SS and now has four homers in September since getting called up from AAA.

(19:00) Jacob Young made another excellent catch on a sliding attempt that survived a few bobbles.  This was Young 3rd fantastic grab in the past two days.

(23:50) Josiah Gray's season is over after his three minor league rehab starts. Gray will not take the mound this weekend vs. the White Sox as some had hoped in his recovery from "Tommy John" Surgery.

(27:00) Brad Ciolek , the National Director of Amateur Scouting, is leaving for a role with the Tigers. 

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The Nats took the weekend series in Queens as they held off the Mets 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.  Before we get to Mark & Al's analysis, Executive Producer Tim Shovers comes on to deliver an annual end of season message.  If you would like to donate to the podcast, visit natschatpodcast.com and click on Merch to get directed to our Donation page.

(04:30) Daylen Lile exited the game early after crashing into the side wall on a sliding catch in the bottom of the 3rd.  Mark was at the game in New York and relays what he saw and learned afterwards.

(11:10) Nasim Nuñez hit his 3rd homer of the month to put the Nats ahead 3-0.  Nasim got the start after CJ Abrams jammed his throwing shoulder in Saturday's 11th inning.

(14:30) Jacob Young made possibly the catch of the season in CF in the bottom of the 5th.

(20:00) Jake Irvin & Mitchell Parker have been awful this year, but on Sunday they teamed up for the entirety of the game. Irvin exited in the top of the 6th and Parker got out of the jam.  The lefty was making his first career relief appearance and turned that into the longest save in team history as he almost lasted four innings. 

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