A massively disappointing first half to a season that was expected to feature significant on-field progress four years into a franchise rebuild has cost the two most prominent people in the Nationals organization their jobs.
Both general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez were fired by ownership this evening, shortly after the team was swept by the Red Sox to fall to 37-53. In a statement announcing the stunning changes, managing principal owner Mark Lerner said longtime assistant general manager Mike DeBartolo will take over as interim GM in Rizzo’s stead. An interim manager to replace Martinez will be named Monday.
“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,” 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.”
Though the long-term fates of both Rizzo and Martinez were very much up in the air after a dismal month of June that included an 11-game losing streak, the decision to make changes at both positions right now, one week shy of the All-Star break and the MLB Draft – with the Nats holding the No. 1 overall pick – was unexpected.
Both Rizzo and Martinez had 2026 contract options that needed to be picked up sometime this month. Had they not been picked up, it was assumed both would still finish out the rest of the season before changes were made, perhaps more so in the case of the GM position than the managerial position.
The two heads of their respective departments had been joined at the hip since Rizzo hired Martinez in November 2017, tasked with lifting a team that had won back-to-back division titles under Dusty Baker to its first taste of postseason success. Nearly two years later, they were hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy in Houston, having built and led the Nationals to the city’s first World Series title since 1925.
After a subpar showing in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Nats attempted to make another postseason run in 2021, only to watch the club collapse during the month of July, prompting Rizzo to trade away eight veterans and begin a roster overhaul, with short-term success taking a back seat to long-term potential.
The 2022 season saw the team lose a club record 107 games and deal Juan Soto to the Padres for five prospects, two of whom (James Wood, MacKenzie Gore) were just named All-Stars today, one year after another (CJ Abrams) was named an All-Star. In the 2 1/2 seasons since, the organization promoted a number of prospects to the big league level, but with a decreased payroll and few prominent free agents, the roster was unable to get back over the .500 mark.
Expectations were higher entering this season, and when the Nationals went 15-12 in May for only their second winning month since the rebuild began, they appeared headed on the right track. That, however, was followed by a 7-19 month of June that included an 11-game losing streak in which Rizzo and Martinez came under increased scrutiny.
The Nats played better on a long West Coast trip to close out the month, then took two of three against the first-place Tigers to begin their current homestand, but were swept by the Red Sox over the holiday weekend, losing the first two games by lopsided scores of 11-2 and 10-3.
When today’s 6-4 loss ended, Martinez met with reporters as he always does following a game and spoke optimistically about his team’s chances moving forward. Shortly after, he and Rizzo were informed of their dismissals by ownership, the two of them left behind as the rest of the team boarded buses bound for Dulles International Airport and a charter flight to St. Louis, where they open a three-game series Tuesday night.
Martinez, the first Nationals manager to survive at least three full seasons, ends up finishing his tenure with a 500-622 record across 7 1/2 seasons. The 60-yeqar-old former outfielder is the first manager to be fired in-season by the Lerner family since Manny Acta during the 2009 All-Star break.
“I’ve always appreciated and admired Davey’s passion for the game of baseball and the love he has for his players,” Lerner said in his statement. “For almost eight years, he’s led our organization during some of our greatest moments, including a 2019 season we’ll never forget. Davey’s ability to connect with our staff, our players, our fans and our community set him apart. While this chapter has come to an end, we know that it doesn’t close the book on what should continue to be a long and successful career in baseball.”
Rizzo was the Lerner family’s first prominent addition after it took over control of the club from Major League Baseball in 2006. Hired initially to be former GM Jim Bowden’s top assistant, the former scouting director of the Diamondbacks ultimately ascended to the GM position in March 2009 when Bowden resigned amid a scandal involving the falsifying of a Dominican-born prospect’s name and age.
Rizzo was given several new contracts along the way, becoming one of the longest-tenured heads of baseball operations in the majors, given the opportunity not only to build the 2019 championship club but then to tear it down and attempt to build another one. The 64-year-old now departs without having succeeded in that second pursuit.
“When our family assumed control of the team, nearly 20 years ago, Mike was the first hire we made,” Lerner said. “Over two decades, he was with us as we went from a fledging team in a new city to World Series champions. He played an instrumental role in leading the transformation of our farm system and building a roster that reached an unprecedented level of organizational success. Mike helped make us who we are as an organization, and we’re so thankful to him for his hard work and dedication – not just on the field and in the front office, but in the community as well. We wish him and his family nothing but the best.”
DeBartolo, who first joined the Nationals as an intern in 2012, ascended to the top assistant GM position in 2019 and was Rizzo’s top lieutenant for contract matters, among other areas of expertise. The Massachusetts native will become interim GM, likely relying on the scouting department already in place to handle next week’s draft. It’s unclear if he’ll be considered for the position in the long term.
“Mike DeBartolo is a smart and thoughtful executive, and we’re fortunate to have him as part of our organization,” Lerner said. “As we hold the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft and look ahead to the trade deadline, we are confident in his ability to lead the baseball operations staff through these next, important months.”
The candidates to replace Martinez on an interim basis could include bench coach Miguel Cairo and Triple-A manager Matt LeCroy.