Bench coach Miguel Cairo was named interim manager of the Washington Nationals on Monday after manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo were fired on Sunday, six years after leading the franchise to its lone World Series title.

Senior VP and assistant GM Mike DeBartolo has taken over for Rizzo on an interim basis.

“Miguel is well-respected in our organization and around baseball,” DeBartolo said. “A diligent worker and student of the game, he has a proven track record of showing strong leadership in a variety of situations, and I believe that his voice and energy will serve as a catalyst to our team and our fan base in the second half of the season.”

A native of Venezuela, Cairo played for nine teams over 17 MLB seasons from 1996 to 2012. He played all positions except catcher, center field and pitcher during his career in which he was a .264 hitter with 41 home runs and 394 RBIs in 1,490 games.

Cairo, 51, joined the Nationals in 2024 after spending the previous season as the minor league infield coordinator for the New York Mets. He also served as bench coach for the Chicago White Sox during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, being named acting manager after Tony La Russa stepped aside in 2022 because of an undisclosed medical condition. The White Sox went 18-16 down the stretch under Cairo but failed to reach the playoffs.

The Nationals are 37-53 and last in the NL East.

Martinez is the fourth manager fired this season — after Pittsburgh’s Derek Shelton, Colorado’s Bud Black and Baltimore’s Brandon Hyde.

Martinez’s full record with the Nationals was 500-622 over seven-plus seasons.

He had never been a manager at any level when Rizzo hired him to replace Dusty Baker before the 2018 season.

After winnuing the World Series in 2019, Washington finished fourth or fifth in the NL East every year from 2020 through 2024.

VAUGHN CALLED UP

Santa Rosa native and former Cal star Andrew Vaughn, a first baseman/outfielder, is back in the major leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers, who promoted him when they sent first baseman Rhys Hoskins to the 10-day injured list with a sprained left thumb.

Vaughn, the third overall pick by the Chicago White Sox in the 2019 draft, made an instant impact in his Brewers debut Monday night against the Dodgers as he hit a first-inning three-run homer.

Hoskins sprained the thumb Saturday in a 4-2 loss at Miami.

Vaughn was acquired in a June 13 trade that sent pitcher Aaron Civale to the White Sox. Vaughn had been hitting .259 with a .338 on-base percentage, three homers and 16 RBIs in 16 games with the Brewers’ Triple-A Nashville affiliate.

The 27-year-old Vaughn hit 72 homers for the White Sox from 2021-24, but had tailed off lately. He posted a .699 OPS last year that was a career low at the time. He followed that up by batting .189 with a .218 on-base percentage, five homers and 19 RBIs in 48 games for Chicago before getting sent to the minors on May 23.

He was hitting .211 with a .328 on-base percentage two homers and 11 RBIs in 15 games with Chicago’s Triple-A Charlotte affiliate at the time of the trade.

BUXTON JOINS DERBY

Minnesota Twins outfielder and Georgia native Byron Buxton was announced as the fourth participant in the Home Run Derby.

The derby will take place Monday, the night before the All-Star Game, at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Buxton joins Nationals outfielder James Wood, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh in the competition. Buxton, who has 20 homers this season, is from Baxley, Georgia, and was the second overall pick by the Twins in the 2012 draft.

New York Mets slugger and two-time winner Pete Alonso joined Philadelphia designated hitter Kyle Schwarber in electing to skip the event.

Alonso was named a National League reserve for the All-Star Game in a season when he’s hit 20 homers. He won the Home Run Derby in 2019 and 2021.

“I love the event. It’s a sick event. I just didn’t really feel motivated to do it this year,” Alonso said, according to MLB.com. “I just figured I’d take a break, use the break as recovery and get back at it, help the team win in the second half.”