Nationals choose their four minor league managers for 2021

Last week, the Nationals extended invitations to each of these four teams. The Senators, Blue Rocks (a new affiliate) and Fredericksburg Nationals accepted. The Red Wings, another new affiliate, are expected to align with Washington after reviewing the terms set by Major League Baseball. And since the group is just about set, the Nationals chose the managers who will shepherd players through a sideways spring.

There was no minor league baseball in 2020. Instead, amid the coronavirus pandemic, only a handful of prospects were invited to the Nationals’ alternate site in Fredericksburg. That means LeCroy, Keister, Shields and Lisson will soon coach players who have not been in a true competitive environment since August or early September of 2019. Knocking off rust, and continuing development unabated, is at the top of their to-do lists.

Pitching coordinator Brad Holman, hitting coordinator Troy Gingrich and outfield/baserunning coordinator Gary Thurman will each return in those positions, according to a person with knowledge of the reworked minor league staff. Coaches Patrick Anderson and Billy Gardner Jr. were among those laid off by the Nationals in late October. Anderson was set to manage the low-Class A Hagerstown Suns in 2020 — had there been a season — while Gardner was slated to be the Senators’ new manager.

As a coach, LeCroy has been with the Nationals since 2008. He also was a catcher for Washington in 2006. The 45-year-old has served in many roles, from the low-Class A manager to major league bullpen coach, and will next head to Rochester for the Red Wings’ first season with the organization. He was most recently shifted from managing the Senators in 2019 to being a quality control coordinator. Now he’s right back in the dugout.

Keister was supposed to manage the Fredericksburg Nationals in their first season since moving from Woodbridge, Va. But that was supposed to be last summer, and Keister was instead at home in Delaware with his family. His familiarity with Wilmington made it easy to see him as the Blue Rocks’ manager. But the Nationals decided to bump him up to Class AA, where many of their top prospects have settled in recent years.

Shields, 56, will manage the Blue Rocks in their first season since leaving the Kansas City Royals. Shields was a co-minor league field coordinator for Washington last season, and has managed in the Baltimore Orioles’ system.

Lisson, 36, is the youngest of the four and was promoted after managing the Nationals’ Gulf Coast League team since 2018. The former infielder grew up in Venezuela, enabling him to communicate in both Spanish and English with young players. He will manage the Fredericksburg Nationals in their first season playing in a new city and stadium. The organization got a good feel for the facility by using it to train its extra players throughout 2020.