WASHINGTON -- Former major-league manager Pat Corrales was hired Tuesday by the Washington Nationals as their bench coach, the position he held with Atlanta the past eight seasons.
New Nationals manager Manny Acta completed his staff by also adding former Montreal Expos first-base coach Jerry Morales, third-base coach Tim Tolman and bullpen coach Rick Aponte.
Mitchell Page will return for a second season as the hitting coach, even though the Nationals announced three weeks ago he would be shifted to minor-league hitting instructor. Randy St. Claire will be back for a fifth season as pitching coach, which the club announced last month.
Corrales worked for the Braves the past 17 seasons. Before that, he went 572-634 in nine years as a major-league manager with Texas, Philadelphia and Cleveland.
Morales was Montreal's first-base coach when Acta was its third-base coach -- from 2002-04, before the franchise moved to Washington.
Tolman and Acta know each other from their days as managers in the Houston Astros' minor-league system. Tolman, a former big-league outfielder, was Cleveland's minor-league field coordinator the past four seasons.
Aponte worked as a scout or minor-league instructor in the Astros' organization for the past 26 seasons.
Acta was introduced last week by the Nationals. He's 37 and will be the youngest manager in the majors next season.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
