The Nats’ front office youth movement is continuing with the youngest hire yet: 31-year-old Anirudh Kilambi, the team’s new general manager.
Kilambi has spent the last four seasons with the Phillies as an assistant GM, overseeing the team’s research and information departments, and handling how data and analytics were used in decision-making.
Prior to that, he spent 2015-21 in the Rays’ organization, eventually reaching the level of director of decision science in 2021; Kilambi started as an intern in the baseball R&D department in 2015, working his way up to assistant director of baseball research and development before moving and then director of decision science.
“Ani has earned a reputation around the industry as one of the brightest front office minds in the game,” Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni said in a release announcing the hire. “He’s not only a sharp and strategic leader who is a great communicator, but he is also thoughtful and humble and aligns with our values. Ani is an excellent complement to the leadership group we have in place, both in terms of his past experiences and who he is as a person.”
“I would like to thank the Lerner, Cohen and Tanenbaum families for trusting our front office to be the stewards of a new era of Nationals baseball, and Paul Toboni for giving me the opportunity to share in his vision,” Kilambi said. “Our goal is to be the highest performing organization in baseball. To do so, we aim to exemplify our core values of joy, humility, integrity and competitiveness, while displaying sharp eyes for talent and best-in-class player development. I’m excited to call Washington, D.C. my home and cannot wait to get started.”
Kilambi joins a Nats staff that starts at the top with Toboni, himself only 35, and new manager Blake Butera, who, at 33, will be the youngest skipper in MLB in over a half-century come opening day.
He also has a local connection from his past, as he succeeded Andy Galdi – brother of DC’s own sports guru Al Galdi – in running the Phillies’ analytics department front office and worked with Andy during the transition.