Nationals name ‘Baby Shark’ as first base coach

Miguel Cairo will be Martinez’s bench coach and Ricky Gutierrez is shifting to third base coach after holding the title of run prevention coordinator in 2023. Chris Johnson was hired as assistant hitting coach.

Holdovers include hitting coach Darnell Coles, pitching coach Jim Hickey, catching and strategy coach Henry Blanco and bullpen coach Ricky Bones.

This is Parra’s first job on a major league coaching staff. After retiring in 2021, he started working in the Nationals’ front office in 2022. Parra played in the majors for 12 years and signed with Washington in 2019 as a backup outfielder. His choice of “Baby Shark” as his walkup music — a nod to his 2-year-old daughter — became a rallying cry for fans and players while the club won its first championship that season.

Cairo, also a former player, was the minor league infield coordinator for the New York Mets last season. Before that, he was the bench coach for the Chicago White Sox for two seasons.

Coles, Hickey, Blanco and Bones head into their third season in these roles with Washington.

The Nationals did not renew the contracts of bench coach Tim Bogar, third base coach Gary DiSarcina, first base coach Eric Young Jr. and assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler.

The Nationals went 71-91 in 2023 as general manager Mike Rizzo continues to try to remake their roster. In the National League, only the Colorado Rockies finished with a worse record this year.

Rizzo and Martinez both got new contracts during the season.

Rizzo has been the team’s GM since 2007. He hired Martinez for his first managerial job before the 2018 season.

CLEVELAND — Through the ups and downs of Stephen Vogt’s playing career — the minor league demotions, two All-Star selections, injuries and too many moves to remember — he never lost sight of his goal to one day become a manager.

For the kid who had a bat tucked into his baby crib and quickly fell for the game, the journey is complete.

“I kind of always had the dream,” he said. “So it’s been a pretty fun day today.”

A baseball lifer with a gift of gab, charming personality and uncanny ability to connect with people, Vogt was introduced Friday by the Cleveland Guardians, who didn’t need long to zero in on him as their choice in the search to find the successor to Terry Francona, the winningest manager in club history.

And the same was true for Vogt, who following his initial meetings on Zoom calls with the team’s front office, sensed Cleveland was his destiny.

“I really felt a connection with the Guardians,” he said. “I thought, I want to be there.”