Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
The Washington Nationals have finally made a significant move, extending and promoting GM Mike Rizzo to President of Baseball Operations combined with his duties as GM.
Rizzo, after taking over from Jim Bowden in 2009, was able to turn Washington from MLB laughingstock to a team many picked to make the World Series this year after many successful drafts and key free-agent signings, such as the Jayson Werth deal and the extension for Ryan Zimmerman. Rizzo was also the catalyst behind the Gio Gonzalez, Denard Span and Rafael Soriano acquisitions. What Rizzo has been able to do in a matter of three years took the Tampa Bay Rays 10 years to achieve. Needless to say, Rizzo has proved his worth.
But was extending and promoting him the right move?
Sure, the move makes a lot of sense — in 2012. Making this move following Washington’s 2012 performance would have made the Nationals look like geniuses. Rizzo had built them up to a bona fide playoff contender that players want to come to. As a GM, Rizzo’s bread and butter is waiting in the weeds, behind the scenes, structuring deals that nobody sees coming until the deals are done.
The problem with extending and promoting Rizzo now is that Washington is in the midst of one of the most disappointing seasons in recent baseball memory, not just for the Nationals, but in the whole league. Extending and promoting Rizzo now makes it look as though it’s a reward for the team’s NL East winning 2012. One of Rizzo’s detriments is his extreme confidence in his own players, whether in the ones he signed or drafted. Giving a player a fair shake is not the issue, it’s when guys like Danny Espinosa or Drew Storen are ineffective for so long that it can put the team in a hole.
Extending and promoting Rizzo was something any Nationals fan could have seen coming. The issue is the timing. Washington has plenty of time to turn things around, and for Rizzo’s sake, let’s hope they do.
