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; the only National League club with a worse record is the Colorado Rockies.

Rizzo had been Nationals GM since 2009 and added the title of president of baseball operations in 2013.

Martinez is the fourth manager fired since the start of 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, never putting together a higher winning percentage than the .438 (71-91) each of the last two seasons.

BUXTON JOINS home run DERBY FIELD

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

The derby will take place next 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.

The 31-year-old Buxton becomes the eighth Twins hitter to take part in the derby. Justin Morneau won the event in 2008.

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 an NL 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. I just didn’t really feel motivated to do it this year,” Alonso said. “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.”

Although he’s not participating this summer, Schwarber left the door open to taking part next season when the All-Star Game is held in Philadelphia. Schwarber has 27 homers this season and made his third All-Star team.

REDS’ GREENE HAS SETBACK

The Cincinnati Reds have delayed the start of a rehabilitation assignment for ace Hunter Greene due to tightness in his strained right groin.

Manager Terry Francona said Monday that Greene would undergo another MRI exam “out of an abundance of caution.”

Greene had been scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Louisville today, but that was put on hold after the discomfort arose following a bullpen session on Sunday. The right-hander, who’s on his second injured list stint because of the muscle strain, told reporters he was feeling strong before the setback but will take his status “day by day.”

After the injury first popped up during a start on May 7, Greene returned after the minimum 15-day stay on the IL and made three starts before being pulled early from the last one on June 3. The Reds were aiming to have Greene back right after the All-Star break, but the timetable for his return is now less clear.

Greene, the second overall pick in the 2017 draft out of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High, was well on his way before the injury to a second straight All-Star Game selection by posting a 2.72 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings over 11 starts.

VAUGHN CALLED UP BY BREWERS

Former Chicago White Sox first baseman/outfielder Andrew Vaughn is back in the majors with the Milwaukee Brewers, who promoted him when they put first baseman Rhys Hoskins on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left thumb.

Vaughn made an instant impact in his Brewers debut Monday night against the Dodgers when he hit a first-inning, three-run homer.

Vaughn, the third overall pick by the White Sox in the 2019 draft out of Cal, was acquired in a June 13 trade that sent pitcher Aaron Civale to the White Sox. Vaughn was 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 batted .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 team at the time of the trade.

Hoskins, 32, has hit .242 with a .340 on-base percentage, 12 homers and 42 RBIs in 82 games.