Nationals fire general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez amid stalled rebuild
The Washington Nationals have fired manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo, the team announced on Sunday.
“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,” team owner Mike 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 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.”
Lerner also announced that assistant general manager Mike DeBartolo has been named as Rizzo’s replacement on an interim basis. DeBartolo will immediately be tasked with running the draft room for next week’s MLB Draft, in which the Nationals have the top pick.
“Mike DeBartolo is a smart and thoughtful executive, and we’re fortunate to have him as part of our organization,” Lerner said in the statement. “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.”
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Martinez, 60, had been in his eighth season as Nationals manager. Over that span, he guided the Nationals to a record of 500-622 (.446). In his second season and alongside Rizzo, Martinez guided the Nationals to a 93-win season and the World Series title via a thrilling seven-game triumph over the favored Houston Astros. Since then, however, the Nationals have not managed a winning season and have not finished higher than fourth place in the division.
The Nationals did not immediately name an interim manager, saying an announcement would come “sometime on Monday.”
The 64-year-old Rizzo had served as the Nationals’ lead decision-maker since March of 2009. In addition to winning the World Series in 2019 under Rizzo, the Nationals on his watch also won four division titles, most recently in 2017. However, until 2019 they failed to advance beyond the Division Series in the postseason.
Under Rizzo and Martinez, the Nationals have been slow to realize the fruits of a rebuild that took place after the 2019 title run. The August 2022 trade that sent Juan Soto to the Padres in exchange for a package that in part included the impressive likes of outfielder James Wood, shortstop CJ Abrams, and left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore. That made for an franchise-changing young core, but Rizzo failed to adequately build around that trio. Lerner himself bears much of the blame, as he’s pared down payroll significantly in the years since 2019. Rizzo and Martinez, though, paid the price for the rebuild that had a successful foundation in place but ultimately yielded poor results in the standings.
Speaking of which, the Nationals this season are 37-53 with a minus-86 run differential and in last place in the National League East. If paces hold, it will be Washington’s fifth last-place finish in the last six years. The only exception was 2024, when the Nationals lost 91 games and placed fourth in the NL East.
