In a major shake-up for the Washington Nationals, the team has parted ways with General Manager Mike Rizzo and Manager Dave Martinez. This announcement, made on Sunday, signals a new direction for the struggling franchise.
Stepping into the interim GM role is Assistant General Manager Mike DeBartolo, who will also take charge of all baseball operations. DeBartolo will be at the helm as the Nationals navigate the upcoming MLB Draft, where they hold the prestigious number one pick—a critical opportunity for the team to bolster their roster.
June proved to be a challenging month for Washington, as the team posted a 7-19 record and now find themselves rooted to the bottom of the NL East with a 37-53 record. This difficult stretch clearly emphasized the need for a change.
Mike Rizzo, who joined the Nationals organization in 2009 as GM and became the president of baseball operations in 2013, was integral in transforming the Nationals into a powerhouse. Under his guidance, Washington secured four NL East titles between 2012-2017, and Rizzo played a vital role in constructing the roster that won the 2019 World Series.
Unfortunately, success has been elusive since that championship run. The Nationals haven’t made a postseason appearance since, and they’ve lost the third-most games in the majors over this stretch, trailing only the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Colorado Rockies.
Dave Martinez’s tenure as manager began in 2017, marking his first stint at the helm of a major league team. Before his time with Washington, Martinez contributed as a coach for the Chicago Cubs during their 2016 World Series-winning season and had a robust 16-year career as a player starting in 1986, making him the team’s longest-serving manager.
A notable factor contributing to the team’s recent struggles is their diminished financial investment. Between 2014 and 2021, the Nationals frequently boasted a top-10 payroll but have since slipped to average among the league’s bottom 10 over the past three years. This belt-tightening coincides with their commitment to a rebuild, underscored by holding the top pick in the draft—a position that previously netted them stars like Stephen Strasburg in 2009 and Bryce Harper in 2010.
While they have a chance to reshape the future with the upcoming draft, the Nationals’ return to prominence remains a question mark. The end of their rebuilding phase is not yet clearly in sight, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity for the revamped leadership team.
