Washington Nationals Managerial Candidate: Dave Martinez

The Washington Nationals will reportedly interview Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez for their managerial vacancy. Here’s what you need to know about him.

On Thursday, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reported that the Washington Nationals will interview Cubs bench coach Dave Martinez for their managerial vacancy. Martinez is a fine candidate for the job, considering he has an illustrious career in professional baseball, both as a player and coach.

Martinez broke into the league as an outfielder with the Cubs in 1986 and went on to play 16 seasons in the major leagues. Despite never being named an All-Star, he had a solid career, owning a career batting average of .276.

After his playing career came to an end, Martinez went on to become a coach. His first full-time MLB coaching job came in 2008, when he served as Joe Maddon‘s bench coach in Tampa Bay. He held that job for seven seasons before leaving Tampa Bay to serve as Maddon’s bench coach with the Cubs.

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The Rays had a .552 winning percentage in Martinez’s seven seasons as bench coach, including a trip to the World Series in 2008.

Now with the Cubs, Martinez has spent the last three seasons as bench coach. The Cubs have been very successful throughout his tenure, including making it to the NLCS in all three years and a World Series championship in 2016.

If the Nats hire Martinez, it will be his first managerial job, but he could still do a great job. He has spent ten seasons by Maddon’s side, a very respected manager, and has undoubtedly observed how to successfully run a team. After ten years with Maddon, he is most likely ready to run his own team.

Martinez also has an extensive background in small ball, specifically bunting and base-running. The Nats had Davey Lopes, one of the most respected first base coaches in the league, last season, but they recently dismissed him along with the rest of the coaching staff. If the Nats hire Martinez to be their manager, he could make up for losing Lopes.

Another beneficial quality of Martinez is his ability to speak both English and Spanish. With his ability to fluently speak Spanish, he can more easily connect with the Nats’ Hispanic players.

Victor Robles and Juan Soto appear to play a tremendous role in the Nats’ future plans, so they should plan to accommodate for them. If the Nats are looking for a manager to fit their needs, there are not many better candidates than Martinez. He was an outfielder like Robles and Soto, and he speaks Spanish fluently. Because of this, Martinez may be a perfect fit for Robles and Soto.

Finally, at 53 years old, Martinez is still relatively young. The Nats have gone through more managers than any other team since they returned to DC, so it would be nice to have a little stability at the helm. At 53, Martinez is capable of holding the job for a long time.

Next: 10 candidates to replace Dusty Baker

Because of the surprise dismissal of Dusty Baker, the Nats are now searching for the eighth manager in the team’s brief history. This will not be an easy task, and many candidates will be considered, but Dave Martinez is the first to reportedly receive an interview. Martinez is not necessarily the front-runner for the job, but if he is hired, he is definitely a qualified candidate.

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