Nationals fire manager Martinez, GM Rizzo
The Washington Nationals have cleaned house.
Washington fired longtime manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo after the last-place team was swept at home by the Boston Red Sox, the team announced.
Mike DeBartolo, the Nationals' senior vice president and assistant general manager of baseball operations, was promoted to interim GM. The team plans to name an interim manager on 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," principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. "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."
The firings come one week before Washington is set to make the first overall pick in this year's MLB Draft.
Washington held club options for 2026 on both Martinez's and Rizzo's contracts. The team had to exercise them by the middle of this month, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.
Martinez, 60, collected a 500-622 record over his seven-plus seasons in the nation's capital, and he owns the third-most wins in Nationals/Expos history.
The Nats posted winning records under Martinez in his first two campaigns. In 2019, his club rebounded from a 19-31 start to make the playoffs as a wild card before upsetting the Houston Astros in the World Series for the franchise's first championship.
However, the Nats have failed to post a winning record since that championship and have lost 90-plus contests in each of the last four seasons, including a league-worst 107 in 2022. Washington currently sits last in the NL East at 37-53, and endured an 11-game losing streak in early June.
Martinez raised eyebrows during that losing streak when he said that his club's offensive struggles were "never on coaching." He later clarified the remarks, saying that he never meant to criticize his players.
Rizzo, meanwhile, originally joined the Nationals organization in 2007 and had served as GM since 2009. Under his watch, the team made five playoff appearances while winning four division titles and the 2019 World Series, all while developing stars such as Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, and Juan Soto.
"The sun will come up tomorrow," Rizzo told Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post shortly after being let go. "That's the job. I had a great run. Navigated that ownership group for almost 20 years."