| Miguel Cairo | |
|---|---|
 Cairo with the Cincinnati Reds in 2011 | |
| Baltimore Orioles | |
| Infielder /Manager /Coach | |
| Born: (1974-05-04)May 4, 1974 (age 51) Anaco,Anzoátegui,Venezuela | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 17, 1996, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 2012, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .264 |
| Home runs | 41 |
| Runs batted in | 394 |
| Managerial record | 47–59 |
| Winning % | .443 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
Miguel Jesús Cairo [ki'-row] (born May 4, 1974) is aVenezuelan former professionalbaseballinfielder andcoach who currently serves as the infield coach for theBaltimore Orioles ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played for nine different teams in a 17-year career in MLB, from 1996 to 2012. During his playing days, Cairo stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 225 pounds (102 kg), batting and throwing right-handed. While primarily asecond baseman, Cairo was able to play all theinfield positions and as acorner outfielder. He was also used forpinch-hitting duties late in his career.
Cairo was interim manager for theChicago White Sox in the latter part of the 2022 season as managerTony La Russa stepped away due to health concerns. He became the interim manager of theWashington Nationals in July 2025 after the team firedDave Martinez. Cairo was briefly the bench coach of the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013 and has worked as a coach and instructor for several teams since retiring as a player.
Cairo was signed as an undrafted free agent by theLos Angeles Dodgers on September 20, 1990. After beginning his career with the DodgersDominican Summer League team, he played with the rookie classGulf Coast Dodgers (1992), Class-AVero Beach Dodgers (1992–1993), Advanced Class-ABakersfield Dodgers (1994) and AASan Antonio Missions.
On November 29, 1995, the Dodgers traded Cairo withWillis Otañez to theSeattle Mariners forMike Blowers,[1] who then traded him, along withBill Risley, to theToronto Blue Jays forEdwin Hurtado andPaul Menhart on December 18, 1995.[2]
Cairo made his major league debut with the Toronto Blue Jays on April 17, 1996, as the starting 2nd baseman. In his first Major League at-bat, he hit a double offChuck Finley of theCalifornia Angels. He played in 9 games for the Blue Jays, with six hits in 27 at-bats for a .222 average. He also played in 120 games for the AAASyracuse Chiefs, hitting .277.
On November 20, 1996, he was traded to theChicago Cubs in exchange for minor leaguer Jason Stevenson. Cairo spent most of the 1997 season with the AAAIowa Cubs, where he hit .279 in 135 games and was selected to theAmerican Association All-Star team. He also appeared in 16 games for the Cubs and had seven hits in 29 at-bats (.241).
TheTampa Bay Devil Rays selected Cairo with the eighth pick in the1997 MLB expansion draft. He hit his first home run on April 28, 1998, off ofMike Oquist for theOakland Athletics. He spent three seasons with the Devil Rays, playing fairly frequently, and hit .275 in 389 games. He was the final active player from their inaugural season when he retired.
Cairo signed with theOakland Athletics during the 2000–2001 offseason, but in March 2001 he was traded back to the Cubs forEric Hinske. In 66 games with the Cubs, he hit .285.
In August 2001, theSt. Louis Cardinals claimed Cairo on waivers from the Cubs. He remained with the Cardinals through the 2003 season. He hit .333 in 27 games in 2001, .250 in 108 games in 2002 and .245 in 92 games in 2003. He also appeared in the postseason for the first time in his career in 2001. In the2002 National League Championship Series against theSan Francisco Giants he had five hits, including a home run, in 13 at-bats.
Cairo signed with theNew York Yankees during the 2003–04 offseason.
In 2004, Cairo won the second base job with the Yankees after starting the year in a platoon withEnrique Wilson. Cairo led the league in percentage of productive outs in 2004 for players with a minimum of 40at-bats. Cairo recorded 17 productive outs in 32 productive out situations, for a PO% of 0.531. Cairo had the highestwinning percentage of team wins when he played in a game of any player in the majors in 2004 (for players with over 100 games played). However, the Yankees declined to offer him a contract for 2005 and signedTony Womack as their new second baseman.
Cairo was signed by theNew York Mets as afree agent before the 2005 season and hit .251 in 100 games.
He returned to the Yankees in 2006 and hit .239 in 81 games.
On August 7, 2007, the Yankees designated him for assignment in order to make room on the 40-man roster forJason Giambi. He was released on August 15.
On August 19, 2007, theSt. Louis Cardinals signed Cairo to a minor league contract, with him reporting to AAA Memphis on August 22. On September 1, 2007, the Cardinals activated him and brought him up to start at second base in a game against theCincinnati Reds. He became a free agent after the season.
On January 8, 2008, he signed a one-year contract with theSeattle Mariners.
Early at the season, Cairo was seldom used, losing his playing time to teammateWillie Bloomquist andGreg Norton. Norton was soon traded to theAtlanta Braves and, withoutfield trouble, the Mariners started a platoon with Bloomquist andJeremy Reed incenter field. which allowed Cairo to be a back-up for strugglingfirst basemanRichie Sexson.
On July 10, the Mariners released Sexson and Cairo assumed the role of full-time first baseman for a few days untilBryan LaHair was finished nursing a sore toe. For the rest of the season, Cairo shared duties at first base withleft-handed hitting LaHair, and started at the other infield positions when the incumbents had an off-day.
On February 15, 2009, Cairo signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Philadelphia Phillies.[3] On May 19, 2009, the Phillies outrighted Cairo to the AAALehigh Valley IronPigs.[4]
Cairo was sent back up to the Phillies on August 23 after they placedGreg Dobbs on the 15-day DL. He returned to the utility infield position, and was retained by the club through the remainder of the regular season. His performance during this stint, including several key hits, led to his inclusion in the division-winning team's postseason roster.[5]
On January 27, 2010, Cairo signed a minor league contract with theCincinnati Reds. On April 2, Cairo made the Opening Day roster. On December 8, as a free agent, he signed a two-year deal with the Reds, which was the first multi-year contract of his career. He had the first multi-home run game of his career on August 13, against theSan Diego Padres, in a game that the Reds won 13–1.
In between seasons, Cairo played winter ball with theLeones del Caracas andCardenales de Lara clubs of theVenezuelan League during the 1993–2003 seasons, hitting .286 with a .351 slugging average in 358 games.[6] Additionally, he hit .308 for the 2000–2001 Cardenales champion team en route to the2001 Caribbean Series, where he batted .360 and slugged .680 with six RBI.[7]
On February 14, 2013, the Reds announced that Cairo would operate as a special assistant to general managerWalt Jocketty, effectively ending his playing career.[8][9] At the end of spring training, Reds third base coachMark Berry was diagnosed with throat cancer, leading Cairo to fill in as the team's bench coach whileChris Speier moved to third base coach.[10] With Berry's return, Cairo moved back to his intended role as assistant to Jocketty. Cairo worked as a special assistant through 2017.[11]
Cairo worked for theNew York Yankees in player development and was a minor league infield coordinator from 2018 to 2020.[11]
On November 18, 2020, theChicago White Sox announced that Cairo would join their coaching staff as bench coach under managerTony La Russa.[12] On August 12, 2021, Cairo managed the White Sox to victory over the Yankees in the firstField of Dreams game, asTony La Russa was unavailable due to a family funeral.[13] On August 31, 2022, Cairo was named acting manager of the White Sox while La Russa underwent testing for an unnamed medical condition.[14] The White Sox went 18–16 under Cairo and failed to reach the playoffs.[15] After the season, general managerRick Hahn said Cairo deserved to interview for the managerial job, which went toPedro Grifol.[16][17]
During the 2023 season, Cairo served as theNew York Mets minor league field coordinator.
On November 10, 2023, Cairo agreed to join theWashington Nationals as bench coach.[18]
On July 7, 2025, Cairo was named interim manager of the Nationals following the firing ofDave Martinez.[19][20] He won his first game as the Nationals manager in an 8–2 win against theSt. Louis Cardinals on July 9.[21] Under Cairo, the Nationals went 29–43.[22] After the 2025 season, Cairo interviewed with the Nationals for the manager position, but the team did not select him, instead choosingBlake Butera as its next manager.[23]
On November 15, 2025, theBaltimore Orioles hired Cairo to serve as the team's infield coach.[24]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| CHW | 2022 | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | 2nd in AL Central | – | – | – | – |
| CHW total | 34 | 18 | 16 | .529 | – | – | – | – | ||
| WAS | 2025 | 72 | 29 | 43 | .403 | 5th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
| WAS total | 72 | 29 | 43 | .403 | – | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 106 | 47 | 59 | .443 | ||||||
Cairo is married and has two children.[11] His sonChristian is a professional baseball player who was drafted in the fourth round of the2019 MLB draft by the then-Cleveland Indians (nowCleveland Guardians).[25][26]
