Nationals' Curtis Mead expects to have fun leading ex-Rays into Trop

When the Washington Nationals pull up to Tropicana Field on Friday for their weekend series, a bunch of them will look familiar.

Manager Blake Butera and bench coach Michael Johns were hired after last season from the Rays. New general manager Ani Kilambi spent the first seven years of his career in the Tampa Bay front office.

Catching coach Bobby Wilson is a Tampa Bay local who played a couple seasons for his hometown team. Assistant hitting coach Shawn O'Malley was a Rays draftee who spent eight years in their minor-league system.

On the field there is starter Zack Littell, who spent the previous 2 ½ seasons with Tampa Bay, and reliever Richard Lovelady, who had a 2024 stint.

But the former Ray who deserves the most attention this weekend is Curtis Mead.

That would be the Curtis Mead who has hit 11 homers, knocked in 34 runs and posted an .818 OPS over 59 games while playing solid infield defense for the Nationals.

The same Curtis Mead who went from highly-touted Rays prospect to being demoted to Triple A after an unimpactful extended 2025 stint in the majors. Then he essentially was ditched at the trade deadline, sent to the White Sox with two minor-leaguers for starter Adrian Houser, a two-month rental.

And, to be fair, the same Curtis Mead who was designated for assignment by the White Sox at the end of spring training and sent to the Nats in what seemed like a non-consequential trade.

Mead, who the Rays got from the Phillies in a November 2019 trade for now All-Star pitcher Cristopher Sanchez (which is a whole other story), quickly found a home in Washington under the guidance of his former Rays coaches and played his way from a platoon role into pretty much every day duty.

"He's been so good," Butera told the Tampa Bay Times this week. "I think the biggest thing is just that he's getting some runway to go play every day, which is hard to get in the big leagues, especially with the Rays.

"That would have been nice for Curtis, but they've been competitive the last several years, so they're not just trying to give players runway to go fail. We had some opportunity here early on to give him some rope, and he's been able to go out there, and he's gotten better every single day."

Mead's 34 RBIs are one more than Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (in 71 games), and his 11 home runs match first baseman Jonathan Aranda (70 games). Though Mead has just a .233 average, he has cut down his strikeouts from 23.4% over his first four major-league seasons to a solid 17.1 and increased his walk rate from 5.7% to 12.8.

"I think he's showing what we thought we had in Tampa Bay, but it also takes some everyday playing time and opportunity. And also having success when you do get the opportunity," Butera said

In taking over a Nationals team that won only 66 games last year in its sixth straight losing season, Butera, who spent the last seven years working in the Rays' minor-league system, and Kilambi, who was in the Tampa Bay front office 2015-21, knew they faced a significant challenge and saw Mead as potential help when the Sox dumped him.

"I told our group, ‘Look, I've seen this kid at his best. I'm very familiar with him, and I think if we're able to give him some opportunity to play, I think there's going to be something there. He's still only 25 years old,'" Butera said. "And it's just been a pleasant surprise."

Johns, who spent 16 years in the Rays' minor-league system and the last two as the big-league first base coach, also felt Mead just needed a chance to play enough to be successful.

"I think it's really a culmination of everything Curtis Mead has been through, from being the top prospect to DFA'd - everything that he's done in his career is like coming to fruition for him," Johns said.

"He's always been a really good clubhouse guy. The guys love him. And that's one of those things where it's like those guys that get DFA'd, if they're really good teammates, and you think there's something in the tank a little bit, you take a chance on them. If they're not, it's hard to do that."

Knowing Mead as they did from their Rays days, Johns said they wanted to give him that opportunity.

"We're pulling for him as much as anybody to have success on the field," Johns said. "He's such a good clubhouse presence, he understood his role, he understood he would have to earn it, and he did. And he's taking advantage of it."

The trip to the Trop will be an experience of assorted emotions for the former Rays and also competitive as the Nationals, with an overall young group, have been surprisingly successful, coming in with a 39-35 record and sitting in the National League's No. 3 wild-card spot.

Butera and Johns have stayed very much connected, watching and then discussing every Rays game they can, checking stats on minor-leaguers, texting and talking with former colleagues and bosses, including mentor Mitch Lukevics.

"It's going to be weird. I think it's going to be really weird. I actually don't know how to feel about it," Butera said. "Littell was asking me, ‘Are you excited?' I was like, ‘I don't know.' I'm excited to see everybody, of course, but it just feels weird not being a Ray. That's all I know. Same with MJ. …

"We're talking about the Rays like just as much if not more than when we were there. It just still feels like - we love the place, we love the people, we're pulling for every single player."

During their series earlier this week with the Royals, Butera and Johns hung out after a game with manager Matt Quatraro, another former Rays staffer who got hired away to run his own team.

"We still talk about how good the people were over there, how lucky we were to be there before this, how very thankful we were for where we came from," Butera said. "I'll never forget all those people, and I'll also never forget what they did for me."

Johns is also looking forward to returning - acknowledging it "will be emotional before the game," and competitive during, knowing both teams badly want to win - but also to have a little fun with his former mates, such as Rays manager Kevin Cash.

"I love Cash, and he's one of my favorite humans ever, but I am going to tell him, ‘Finally I have a manager that believes in me, a manager that lets me work and breathe,'" said Johns, with similar kidding planned for other coaches and staff.

Mead also is looking forward to facing his former team.

During Tuesday's home game, Mead walked by Butera and Johns and asked, "Hey, are you guys nervous to play the Rays?"

Johns said, "It doesn't matter if we're nervous, are you nervous?"

"No," Mead replied. "It's going to be fun."

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