The Washington Nationals have had a very interesting offseason to this point. While nobody truly knows the intentions of the club in terms of free agency this winter, one thing has become very clear: under the new guidance of Paul Toboni, the Nationals are going to become a player development machine. This should be music to the ears of all Nationals fans who have paid attention over the last few years.
During the Mike Rizzo era, the organization as a whole struggled with drafting and development of many youngsters, and it is a large reason why the Nationals have now had to enter their current rebuild and have been stuck in it for years now. Hopefully the coaching and leadership on the field under Blake Butera will be able to exceed that of previous manager Dave Martinez as well.
But as of the early days of January, the Nationals have now brought on some new faces on the coaching staff as well. After mostly cleaning house at all levels of the organization once Toboni took over, the Nationals have had the responsibility to find new leadership personnel for various levels of their minor league clubs.
Back on New Year's Day, the Nationals have poached University of Memphis assistant coach Ted Tom and will give him the title of the new manager for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the High-A affiliate of the Wilmington Blue Rocks. He has coached Division 1 baseball for over a decade, but this is yet another bold move by the young Nationals' front office and is a major leap up for Tom.
One other hire that was made on the same day was for the Nationals' Florida Complex League (FCL) in West Palm Beach, Florida. As they needed a new minor league coordinator for their FCL, they have decided to bring on Jeremy Sheetinger, who had been the head coach at Georgia Gwinnett College. He helped guide them to an NAIA National Championship back in 2021, and they were ranked #2 in the NAIA preseason poll heading into this season.
Sheetinger posted a 279-52 career record over the course of 6 seasons coaching the Grizzlies, and he is a proven winner although not at the highest level. Bringing in all of these external voices and influences is hopefully going to help change the culture in the organization at all levels, something that was desperately needed.
What do you think of the latest coaching hires made by the Nationals? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.