Nationals Expected to Hire Acta as Manager on Tuesday

Manny Acta, 37, was the New York Mets' third base coach this year and drew raves for his job managing the Dominican team in the World Baseball Classic. (Charles Krupa - AP)

The Washington Nationals are expected to hold a news conference Tuesday naming New York Mets third base coach Manny Acta, formerly a coach under outgoing skipper Frank Robinson, as their new manager, industry sources said last night.

Although the team did not confirm the move, the Nationals' decision to hire Acta, 37, who has no managing experience above Class A and never played in the majors, reflects the Nationals' standing in baseball's hierarchy. The club finished last in the National League East in its first two seasons in Washington after moving from Montreal, and with a moribund farm system and a spotty major league roster, Acta and the club will grow together.

Acta prevailed over a deep and diverse pool of candidates to replace Robinson, a Hall of Famer who was not asked back after five seasons. A native of the Dominican Republic, Acta has been a major league coach for five seasons and served as a manager in the Houston Astros' minor league system before being named to Robinson's staff with the Montreal Expos in 2002.

Neither Acta, General Manager Jim Bowden nor Nationals President Stan Kasten returned several messages yesterday and last night seeking comment on the situation.

The club, though, would like to make a splash with Acta's hiring, and therefore the announcement is likely to be delayed. Monday, the National League's rookie of the year will be announced, and Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is a prime candidate. The Nationals almost certainly wouldn't want to trump one of their few chances to report good news.

The search to replace the 71-year-old Robinson began immediately after the season concluded on Oct. 1. Kasten vowed from the start that the search would be "thorough" but pledged to keep the process as quiet as possible, and candidates were largely revealed in dribs and drabs. Veteran manager Lou Piniella, who had taken a year off after an unfulfilling run with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, was one of the first people contacted by Bowden, but he decided the Nationals, in the midst of what could be a painful rebuilding process, would be better served by a younger manager. Piniella ended up with the Chicago Cubs.

Either Kasten or Bowden contacted a slew of candidates with nearly all levels of experience, from former Cubs and San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker to New York Yankees first base coach Tony Peña to Atlanta hitting coach Terry Pendleton to minor league managers John Russell and Trent Jewett. Though it's likely several of those conversations were merely exploratory, one person emerged as a serious candidate in mid-October -- Joe Girardi, who was fired after just one season managing the Florida Marlins.

Girardi met with Nationals officials twice, traveling to Washington to visit with members of the ownership group led by Theodore N. Lerner and visiting the site of the team's new stadium, scheduled to be opened in 2008. But on Oct. 23, Girardi removed his name from consideration, citing family considerations.

Though the Nationals kept in touch with other candidates after they first contacted Acta on Oct. 19 -- the day after the Mets were eliminated in the National League Championship Series -- the seriousness of Acta's candidacy was evident in his interview. Some of the people contacted by Bowden never visited Washington. Acta met with Kasten and Bowden as well as Ted and Mark Lerner, the owner's son.

"It's a very, very attractive job," Acta said in an interview Oct. 27. On Thursday, after he returned from a stint serving as a coach on a team of major leaguers that toured Japan, he called the Nationals an "ideal" situation for him, particularly because he had coached with the team before and is familiar with such veterans as second baseman Jose Vidro, catcher Brian Schneider and first baseman Nick Johnson.

"I've only been gone for two years," he said. "I'm familiar with a lot of those kids, and some of the guys coming up in the minor leagues. I still feel familiar with the organization."

Acta has a reputation as an outgoing and energetic personality. After signing with the Astros in 1986, he failed to make it to the majors as an infielder. His first managing job came in 1993 with Auburn of the short-season Class A New York-Penn League, and he worked his way through the Astros' chain over the next eight years, managing several Class A clubs and then serving a one-year stint as a coach in Class AAA.

Even after he was hired onto Robinson's staff in 2002, Acta kept striving toward his goal of managing in the majors. He managed in winter ball in his native Dominican Republic, guiding the historic Licey Tigers to the championship in the 2003-04 offseason.

Acta drew raves last spring when he served as manager of the Dominican team in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Though the Dominicans failed to reach the championship game, Acta juggled a team of stars, and the Dominicans smiled and fist-bumped their way through every game, seemingly having more fun than any other team.

Acta may have given an early indication of his style and forcefulness in that tournament, too. With Alfonso Soriano -- entering his first, and perhaps only, season with the Nationals -- struggling offensively and in the field at second base, he benched the slugger in favor of Placido Polanco, who provided more stable defense and got on base more often.