The Washington Nationals will hire Matt Williams to be the new manager of the ball club.
According to The Washington Post, the Nats are set to hire the Arizona Diamondbacks third base coach, making him the fifth manager in the team’s history. However, the Nationals have not yet confirmed the planned hiring because MLB prohibits such announcements during the World Series.
The 47-year-old will be replacing former manager Davey Johnson, who retired at the end of the season.
This will be his first managerial job at any level. He has been with the Dbacks' since 2010 and started out as the first base coach then took over as the third base coach, CBS Sports notes.
Before that, Williams was a power-hitting third baseman for 17 major league seasons. He has a close relationship with Nationals GM Mike Rizzo that dates back to the early 2000s, when Rizzo was Arizona's scouting director and Williams played for the team.
Randy Knorr, who was also a candidate for the managerial position last month, will remain the team’s bench coach.
The Nats are hoping Williams will be able to propel the team back to the playoffs, after placing second in the weak NL East division last year and missing the wild card spot.