The Nationals will introduce acting general manager Mike Rizzo as their permanent general manager on Thursday, according to industry sources. The move comes just 24 hours after a Yahoo Sports report claimed that the organization was poised to name Arizona Diamondbacks vice president Jerry Dipoto to the position. The other finalist for the job was Red Sox assistant general manager Jed Hoyer.
Instead, Rizzo inherits the job he assumed on an interim basis when Jim Bowden resigned March 1. During that time, Rizzo has solidified the franchise’s activities in the Dominican Republic, acted as the point man in negotiations with top draft pick Stephen Strasburg – who signed at the deadline on Monday – and made a few well received trades. Rizzo has been with the organization since July of 2006, when he was the scouting director for the Diamondbacks. He entered spring training as an assistant GM and the vice president of baseball operations.
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That news clears up the curious Yahoo report. Team president Stan Kasten certainly didn’t look like a man who was ready to hire someone else as the permanent GM when he sat back in a conference room on Monday night and gave Rizzo, 48, much of the credit for signing Strasburg to a $15.1 million contract over four years. Rizzo himself spoke about the work left to help build the Nats into a legitimate contender.
“I think it’s time to take a deep breath and relax a little bit. We have a game [Tuesday night] we desperately want to win,” Rizzo said in the early-morning hours Tuesday after the Strasburg signing was complete. “And we’re looking forward to putting the next piece in place towards winning a championship. We’re not going to go a day without working hard to improve the ballclub in any way possible we can. We’ve got trade waivers going on. There’s a lot of stuff still to do. We’re evaluating our team at all times.”
The Nats are a long way from good, of course. They still have the worst record in baseball (43-77) after Wednesday’s 5-4 loss at Nationals Park to Colorado. But the off-the-field news is far more stable now than earlier this season when Bowden resigned and when manager Manny Acta and pitching coach Randy St. Claire were both fired.
