On Sunday afternoon, the Washington Nationals announced surprising moves from our nation’s capital. They had relieved longtime manager Davey Martinez and even longer-time general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo of their duties, effective immediately.
The moves themselves were not the surprising part. Since winning the World Series in 2019, the Nationals have regularly been one of the worst teams in baseball. They have the second-most losses since 2019, only ranking above the moribund Colorado Rockies.
In addition, both Martinez and Rizzo were on expiring contracts with 2026 options.