Nationals clean house, fire GM Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez
Rizzo, 64, has been the Nationals' GM since 2009, taking over for the fired Jim Bowden and building around consecutive No. 1 picks in franchise icons Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper to craft an almost perennial contender throughout the previous decade, as they claimed five playoff berths between 2012 and 2019.
The run culminated with the 2019 World Series title, when the Nationals – one year after Harper's departure – parlayed a wild card berth into a seven-game upset of the Houston Astros in Martinez's second year at the helm.
But things turned south almost immediately. The club struggled through an injury-plagued pandemic-shortened 2020 season and soon had to write off the $245 million contract it granted Strasburg after his World Series MVP performance gave way to thoracic outlet syndrome.
Martinez, 60, was in his eighth season managing the Nationals, who have not had a winning record since winning 93 games in 2019. After going 26-34 in 2020, they suffered 97- and 107-loss seasons before posting 71-91 marks each of the past two seasons.
Yet the 2025 season was viewed as a time for significant progress, with a young core of players coalescing and the most serviceable roster the Nationals had fielded in at least three seasons looking ready to compete. Instead, they are 37-53, in last place in the National League East and coming off a brutal sweep by the Boston Red Sox.
Martinez and Rizzo won't be around to see the rebuild through, instead having to oversee a clubhouse that went from veteran champions to twentysomethings trying to learn at the big league level after the most momentous transaction in franchise history.
The club named assistant GM Mike DeBartolo as interim general manager and will announce an interim manager Monday. The team did not indicate further changes to the coaching staff.
As their superstar core aged, young slugger Juan Soto remained the last man standing from their glory years, and in 2022, the Nationals created a self-imposed deadline: Trade Soto or sign him to an extension. Soto declined a heavily-deferred $440 million deal and was traded to San Diego in August 2022, a transaction that remade the franchise.
While the losses piled up, the young players acquired in the Soto deal - shortstop CJ Abrams, left-hander MacKenzie Gore and outfielder James Wood - grew into the Nationals' next core. Yet as the Nationals prepared to improve on their consecutive 71-win campaigns this year, Martinez took the major leagues' 29th-ranked bullpen into battle, and the unit's 5.71 ERA has turned many close games into certain losses.
In this fate-sealing skid that saw the Nationals go 9-23 since June 1, it was largely the offense's futility that made the whole machine break down.
And in the process, it cast a light on Rizzo' and his regimes' inability to consistently draft and develop players. The few bright spots for the future - staff ace MacKenzie Gore, slugger James Wood and shortstop CJ Abrams - were named All-Stars the past two years.
Yet the cupboard is virtually bare otherwise, even with the Nationals' favorable drafting position in recent years. They hold the No. 1 pick in the July 15 draft.
It won't be Rizzo making that call.
'On behalf of our family and the Washington Nationals organization, I first and foremost want to thank Mike and Davey for their contributions to our franchise and our city,' managing partner Mark Lerner said. 'Our family is eternally grateful for their years of dedication to the organization, including their roles in bringing a World Series trophy to Washington, D.C. While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be. This is a pivotal time for our Club, and we believe a fresh approach and new energy is the best course of action for our team moving forward.'
Rizzo's cause wasn't helped by either the apathy or unwillingness of management to invest in both capital improvements around the franchise along with free agent impact additions. Now, it will be a new regime shaping a fresh vision from the executive branch for the first time in almost two decades.
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