Washington Nationals: 5 managers who should replace Dusty Baker

2. DeMarlo Hale

DeMarlo Hale is a baseball lifer who many consider to be one of the best coaches in the game. He has always been a strong manager candidate but has never quite gotten the opportunity. If the Nationals move on from Baker, Hale should be in the running.

Hale was a lifetime minor league player who eventually gave up his major league dreams to get into coaching. He began his managerial career with the Boston Red Sox’s High-A club in 1993. He was a minor league manager from 1993-2001, and he was one of the most respected minor league managers in the game.

Hale eventually earned a major league opportunity with the Texas Rangers and has worked many base coaching/bench coach roles along the way. Hale has been the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays since the 2013 season.

Basically, Hale is just a much more experienced version of McEwing. Similar to McEwing, he does not have the major league managing experience, but he does have a ton of managing experience in the minor leagues and big-league coaching experience. This guy has been through it all.

The Nationals have a roster that is absolutely loaded with talent. They do not necessarily need a manager to come in and change everything. Hale is the kind of solid and reliable manager who could keep the team on track. As long as he is more open-minded than Baker, Hale would certainly have a chance to take this team to the next level.

Hiring a guy like Hale would not be the sexy move. But he is a well-deserving man who could legitimately take the Washington Nationals to the next level.