Nats announce extension for GM Rizzo

PITTSBURGH -- The Nationals have agreed to terms on a contract extension with general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, the team announced on Wednesday.

This, after the Nationals signed manager Dave Martinez to a multiyear contract extension on Aug. 22.

“I’m honored and flattered to have this extension,” Rizzo said. “It’s an honor that the Lerner family has trusted me for so many years with the keys to the franchise. I hope I’ve been a good caretaker for them thus far, and hopefully continue to bring respect and prominence to the Washington, D.C., area and to the Nationals.”

Rizzo’s tenure with the Nationals dates to 2006, when he became the Lerner family’s first hire. After elevating from assistant GM to GM/senior vice president on Aug. 20, 2009, and GM/executive vice president of baseball operations on Oct. 19, 2010, Rizzo was promoted to his current role on Aug. 1, 2013.

“Mike and I have talked and worked with each other almost daily for 17 years,” Washington Nationals managing principal owner Mark D. Lerner said in a statement." Together with my family and the entire Nationals staff, we’ve always shared the same dream: to make the Washington Nationals a team that our fans could love and be proud of. We have all worked collectively to build what was essentially an expansion team with no Major League depth into a contender, and then into a World Series champion. We’ve experienced some tough losing seasons and we’ve hung championship banners, and we’ve done it all together."

Under Rizzo from 2012-19, Washington’s .563 winning percentage was the second-best in Major League Baseball behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers (.584). During that time, the Nationals won four National League East titles (2012, ‘14, ‘16, ‘17), and their first World Series title in ‘19.

Along the way, Rizzo constructed the organization through notable trades, Draft picks and signings. These transactions helped reach the World Series victory and then build toward the team’s next chapter in the seasons that followed.

“I love being part of the Washington Nationals organization,” Rizzo said in a team release. “Nearly 17 years ago, Ted Lerner and his family asked me to help build the Nats into a winning team. Together, we managed to find success within just a few years, winning multiple divisional titles and, ultimately, bringing D.C. its first World Series championship since 1924."

In moves leading up to the World Series, the Nationals inked outfielder Jayson Werth to a seven-year deal in 2010, signed infielder Ryan Zimmerman to a six-year contract extension in ‘12, acquired shortstop Trea Turner and right-hander Joe Ross in a three-team deal in ‘14, landed righty Max Scherzer on a seven-year contract in ‘15 and signed southpaw Patrick Corbin to a six-year contract in ‘18.

Following the World Series, the Nationals signed right-hander Stephen Strasburg to a seven-year contract in December 2019.

The Nats entered their next chapter in 2021, marked by sending Scherzer and Turner to the Dodgers in a megatrade to acquire starting right-hander Josiah Gray and catcher Keibert Ruiz. The following season, they traded outfielder Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell to the Padres in a blockbuster that included shortstop CJ Abrams, left-hander MacKenzie Gore and prospect outfielders James Wood (No. 7 overall) and Robert Hassell III (Nationals’ No. 8) coming to Washington.

This July, the Nats selected LSU star outfielder Dylan Crews with the No. 2 overall pick, adding to notable first-round selections that include Strasburg (2009), Bryce Harper (‘10), Anthony Rendon (‘11), Cade Cavalli (‘20) and Brady House (‘21).

“This will be my second rebuild,” Rizzo said. “... All the strife and struggles that you go through can’t even be measured to the glory that you have when that last out of that Game 7 of the World Series goes into the guy’s mitt. That’s why it was so important to me to be here, to see this through and to hopefully see another succession to being a really competitive team in a really competitive division and to win another ring for the Nationals fanbase.”

The Nationals surpassed last season’s 55-win total in mid-August and stood at 65-80 on Wednesday. Rizzo has an offseason to-do list to continue that improvement, which is heavily rooted in the development of the organization’s young talents and prospects.

“I don’t think that it’s a successful season, but it’s a very encouraging season,” Rizzo said. “Nobody wants to win 70 games in a season; we want to win 97 games in a season. So that’s our goal, that’s always been our goal, but this is a good step in the right direction to that. I’m really excited about what’s coming down the pike and the players that are going to be the next core group of the championship team that plays in Nationals Park.”