Nationals, Orioles and Twins hire new managers

Derek Shelton (Google Images)

Three new Major League Baseball managers were hired this week. The Baltimore Orioles hired Craig Albernaz of Fall River, Massachusetts on Monday according to Field Level Media. The Minnesota Twins hired Derek Shelton of Carbondale, Illinois according to Dave Campbell of the Associated Press on Thursday. The Washington Nationals hired Blake Butera of Metairie, Louisiana according to TSN on Thursday.

Albernaz previously worked in the organizations of the Tampa Bay Rays (2015 to 2019), the  San Francisco Giants (2020 to 2022), and the Cleveland Guardians (2024 to 2025). While with the Rays, Albernaz worked in the minor league system. While with the Giants, he was their bullpen and catching coach. While with the Guardians, Albernaz was their bench coach and associate manager. The Orioles were last in the American League East this season with a record of 75 wins and 87 losses.

Shelton has six years of managerial experience with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was with them from 2020 to 2025. Shelton’s record with the Pirates was 306 wins and 440 losses for a winning percentage of .410. It should be noted that Shelton had coaching experience with the Twins, Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays before his time in Pittsburgh.

Butera has had minor league success with the Hudson Valley Renegades and Charleston RiverDogs. In that time, he had a record of 258 wins and 144 losses for a winning percentage of .642. In 2021 and 2022, Butera was the Manager of the Year in the Carolina League, and won two Carolina League Championships with the RiverDogs. This past season, Butera was the Rays’s Senior Director of Player Development. The term “senior” is a bit amusing when Butera is only 33 years old.