WASHINGTON — I know.
No, really, I do. It’s ridiculous, of course. It’s absurd. I said it as a joke to a few friends last week. But the more I think about it, the more I think Mike Rizzo should just install himself in the dugout as manager of the Washington Nationals for 2018.
By firing Dusty Baker after winning 192 games in two seasons and losing a pair of playoff series in the deciding game by a single run, Rizzo and Nationals ownership have made their stance clear. They’ve declared, for the world to hear, “We think the talent here is good enough here that we should win the World Series.” If that wasn’t the case, if there were persistent personnel shortfalls, you’d fire the GM, not the manager. So if the talent is good enough, they’re saying the only man holding the organization back from glory is the manager.
Clearly the belief is that this is a would-be World Series winner … assembled by Rizzo. If that’s the case, why put a middle man in the dugout who could somehow muddle his brilliantly assembled squad?
In possibly the last year of their competitive window, the Nationals would avoid the growing pains and learning curve that an outsider would inevitably bring. Rizzo knows all the players personally and understands the organization — and the Lerner family — inside and out. He also knows and is well-accustomed to dealing with superagent Scott Boras, who represents a handful of Nationals, including Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg.
Going with Rizzo would solve one of the biggest dilemmas the Nats have encountered in finding a manager in the first place — that whole salary issue. Matt Williams took a low salary as a first-time manager. But Bud Black understandably balked at a one-year, $1.6 million deal well below market rate, considering rookie managers (which he was not) were getting $5 million per year. Given the apparent complete lack of job security in the position and the past unwillingness to shell out enough in compensation to offset that security, the Nats could kill two birds with one stone by just installing Rizzo.
Rizzo certainly understands the game. He played for three seasons in the minor leagues before going into the scouting world, where he’s spent the rest of his professional life. He was raised by his father, Phil, a professional scout himself. Rizzo’s entire life has been steeped in the finer details of the sport.
And it’s not like there isn’t precedent for GM’s moving down to the dugout. Dan Jennings made the move in 2015 for the Miami Marlins. In 2009, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent their director of player development to the dugout. His name? A.J. Hinch, the current manager of the American League champion Houston Astros, currently duking it out with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
Besides, it seems like the Nationals would have to encounter a catastrophic string of events not to repeat once more as NL East champs, so we’re really talking about just making sure you make the right moves in (hopefully) a few handfuls of postseason games.
I’ve written about this before, but it’s possible the Nats are more a product of the terrible divisional competition than superior talent. A bad team isn’t going to average 92.5 wins over a six-year stretch. But the NL East competition has been truly dreadful of late, producing just two winning clubs out of 16 opponents over the last four seasons. With Rizzo in charge, using every player in the exact manner he saw fit when he drafted or signed or traded for them, wouldn’t we find out for sure just how good they really are?
Potential managerial candidates, such as Dave Martinez and Kevin Long understand the game well, and there’s no reason to think they couldn’t be good managers. But how can you lay the expectation of winning the World Series on a first-time outsider with few ties to the organization? How can you expect them to not just learn the dynamics of the home clubhouse, but walk the tightrope of dealing with ownership that each of their three predecessors has been unable to do without falling off?
Rizzo’s contract is up after 2018 anyway, when the team may well lose Harper, Gio Gonzalez, Ryan Madson, Daniel Murphy and Matt Wieters, all of whom will be free agents. Of course moving to the dugout is a gamble, and maybe a crazy one, but what does Rizzo have to lose? Eventually, the ax will fall on his head, too, if his teams can’t win.
If the Nats don’t win it all next year with him as GM, Rizzo could be gone anyway. But if he took over as manager and they did pull it off? If they won the World Series? He’d go down in history for making the boldest, most inspired move in front office history.
