Nationals Hire Gerardo Parra Ricky Gutierrez As Coache

With a number of vacancies to fill on their coaching staff, the Nationals will fill two of those spots with as the new first base coach and as the new third base coach, Andrew Golden of the Washington Post reports ( ). Parra and Gutierrez will Grant Anderson Jersey respectively take over from and , as the Nats parted ways with both base coaches following the season. This is the first coaching job for the 36-year-old Parra, who has spent the better part of the last two seasons as a special a sistant to Nationals GM Mike Rizzo. 2021 was the final season of Parras 12-year Major League career, and he sandwiched two seasons with the Nats around a stint in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants in 2020. Parra enjoyed a number of highlights during his lengthy career, including two Gold Gloves when playing for the Diamondbacks from 2009-14. However, Parras most famous broadly famous moments came with Washington in 2019, as his use of Baby Shark as his walkup song made him a viral sensation. Parras arrival with the Nationals after a May 2019 trade with the Giants was also considered a chief turning point in the Nats season, as Parras clubhouse leadership and contributions as an outfield regular helped get a then-struggling Washington team on track. The result was the Nationals first World Series championship, cementing Parras position as a fan favorite in the District for life. The 53-year-old Gutierrez also has 12 seasons of Major League playing time on his resume, suiting up for six different teams from 1993-2004. Post-playing career, Gutierrez worked with the Reds player development department for five years and was the manager of their Double-A affiliate in 2021. Gutierrez moved on from that job to join the Nationals prior to the 2022 season, first working as a Latin American scout and in a special a sistants role, and he was part of the MLB teams coaching staff in 2023 as a run prevention coordinator. That somewhat unique title meant that Gutierrez was focusing on improving the Nats defense, and Gutierrez (himself a former shortstop) in particular worked with and in the middle infield. Steele Walker Jersey