Washington Nationals: Top 5 Mike Rizzo Transactions

Nationals extend GM Mike Rizzo

The Washington Nationals promoted Mike Rizzo to general manager when Jim Bowden unexpectedly resigned in March 2009. Since then, Rizzo has developed a division-winning team and has made all the right decisions to keep the team where it is.

Rizzo was given an extension to the 2014 season Thursday and he is negotiating to stay with the team past the 2014 season. Rizzo has earned the extensions from developing a team that is going to win 85-plus games for seasons to come. His drafts since he took over have been excellent and the personnel decisions that he has made on and off the field have been fantastic.

The next tough decision that Rizzo is going to have to make is picking a manager once Davey Johnson retires. Johnson is finished after this season and there is not a great selection of managers to choose from because most of them that are available are young and not experienced. It is going to be interesting once the season ends to see which direction Rizzo is going to go.

Is it not surprising where the Nationals are after the past few years of terrific transactions? The Nationals have made all the right moves and it starts at the top with Rizzo making all the right moves in the offseason. Here is a list of the top five moves Rizzo has made since taking over the general manager job.

I’m sure there are some that I may have missed, but these are the ones that stick out to me as to where the Nationals are right now.

5. Signing Rafael Soriano

The Nationals, a few months removed from blowing the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals, went out and addressed the bullpen need. Rizzo signed Rafael Soriano for three years on a deal worth $14 million. He had 42 saves last season and has six so far this year.

4. Signing Jayson Werth

The Nationals needed to make a splash and after Jayson Werth had an incredible 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies, Rizzo gave out a huge seven-year, $126 million deal to Werth. It put Washington in the conversation in the NL East.

He did not have a terrific 2011 and was plagued with injury in 2012, although he hit a game-winning home run against the Cards in the NLDS. His 2013 should be great as the Nats look to get back to the playoffs.

3. Re-signing Ryan Zimmerman

Ryan Zimmerman joined the Nationals in 2005 before the Mike Rizzo era. However, he knows how important Zimmerman is to the club and how long Zimmerman has been longing for a winning season in Washington. He is an important piece at third base, and for Rizzo to lock him up for five more years, it looks like Zimmerman will retire a National.

2. Acquiring Gio Gonzalez

It was one of Rizzo's boldest moves of the 2011-12 offseason. He traded Derek Norris, Tom Millone, A.J. Cole and Brad Peacock, top prospects in the organization, for stud pitcher Gio Gonzalez ,and in his first season with the club, he was worth it.

Gonzalez led the league with 21 wins and had a 2.89 ERA. Washington hopes he gives the same performance this season as he did in 2012.

1. Drafting Stephen Strasburg/Bryce Harper

The Nationals literally started from the bottom. They started off with poor seasons and put together a few incredible drafts to make themselves where they are today.Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are two players that have lifted the Nats to new heights. Although they were no-brainer selections, it was up to Rizzo to help develop them, and after a few years of developing, Harper and Strasburg are superstars in baseball.