Nationals fire manager Dave Martinez, GM Mike Rizzo amid team struggles
The Washington Nationals fired manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo on Sunday in a large organizational shakeup amid team struggles.
The move, which was reported by ESPN, comes just hours after the Nats fell to the Boston Red Sox, 6-4, which was a sweep at Nationals Park this weekend.
Washington has been at the bottom of the NL East division for quite some time, owning a 37-53 record now with the loss on Sunday. And while this loss was a close one, the Nationals were blown out at their home park, 11-2 and 10-3, in the first two games of the series.
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The team is now 2-10 in June, where they’ve struggled mightily at getting runs across the plate, averaging just 2.5 per game.
Washington possesses a very young team, but it’s a talented group that hasn’t been taking the strides ownership wants to see.
"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," principal owner Mark D. Lerner said in a statement. "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 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."
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There have been times, too, this season when Martinez has gotten fiery when asked about the offensive struggles. After losing to the Miami Marlins last month, which pushed the Nats’ losing streak to seven straight games, Martinez made a bold statement when asked a question by a reporter.
"It's never on coaching. Never on coaching. Coaches work their asses off every single day. We're not going to finger-point here and say it's coaches. It's never on the coaches. They work hard. The message is clear. All the work is done prior. So sometimes, they have to go out there and play the game. It's always been about the players. Always," he said, per ESPN.
On Sunday, the Nationals left 15 runners on base, failing to get timely hits to salvage a game in the series.
With the All-Star ahead after this week of games, the Nationals were quick to move on from Martinez and Rizzo, who were both pivotal pieces in getting the team’s World Series championship in 2019.
Martinez was manager when the team won its first World Series, but the team started to rebuild after that. Rizzo traded young star Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres, along with Josh Bell, in August 2022.
The deal yielded prospects Robert Hassell III, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and James Wood — all of which are making an impact on the current Nationals. Jarlin Susana, who was also in the deal, remains in the minors.
But the results on the field have not been the same since that 2019 season, as the Nationals have not been higher than fourth in the NL East and have failed to reach the postseason in the last five seasons.
Mike DeBartolo, the team’s senior vice president and assistant general manager, has been named interim general manager, while the team will make an announcement on Monday to determine who the interim manager will be.
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