The Washington Nationals under their new management from both new President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni and new manager Blake Butera just continue to find their way into relevant headlines for the club. This offseason has been one of necessary yet drastic change for the Nationals, and we are now seeing what the staff will look like around Butera moving forward.
Toboni and Butera have been hard at work assembling a young and forward-thinking coaching staff since the hiring of Butera was initially announced a few weeks ago, and earlier this week, the Nationals poached yet another rising name on the coaching side. Perhaps what makes it even sweeter is the fact that this time it came from a National League East rival.
The Nationals have now hired Tyler Smarslok as the team's field coordinator, a role that varies slightly from the one he held with the Miami Marlins, his previous team. Smarslok served as the first base coach that also helped to coach players on their baserunning and infield defense, two areas in which the Nationals were extremely poor in over the last few years.
Clearly, the Nationals' new regime and leadership has identified numerous areas of clear weakness within the club, as most fans knew that the team was extremely undisciplined in their baserunning and has also notoriously been a porous defensive club, especially in the infield. Under Smarslok's guidance this past season, utility player Javier Sanoja won a Gold Glove award while second baseman Xavier Edwards was a finalist as well.
The Nationals have not fielded anything close to a Gold Glove caliber player at either middle infield position over the last few seasons, and the club has suffered overall as a result of their poor coaching. Hopefully, Smarslok will be able to help the club improve their infield defense not only for this season but for years to come, and can help guys like CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. improve on some of their poor defensive habits.
With the hiring of Smarslok, the Nationals' coaching staff is one step closer to being completed, but there are still a few massive question marks that have yet to be addressed. The team needs a new hitting coach to replace the departed Darnell Coles, and Butera will also need to bring on some assistants as well. A first and third base coach will also need to hired, so there is definitely still work to be done for both Toboni and Butera.
What do you think of the latest hire for the Nationals? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.