Washington Nationals news & notes: Mike Rizzo and the Nats’ future…

As GM Mike Rizzo explained, Davey Martinez was the first to execute a new multi-year extension, as planned. But the sixth-year captain in the nation’s capital was thrilled by the news that Rizzo had signed his own contract a few weeks later. This means that we will be able to watch the restart that started in 2021 to the end.

“I had a great relationship with Mike,” the coach told reporters.

“I’m really happy that we got them.” [Rizzo’s extension] It’s done…and we can work together for many more years and build something again. We won a championship together, so we can do it again here, and we can do it again pretty quickly. ”

At a press conference announcing the contract extension, Coach Rizzo said, “We are going to spend the days struggling to rebuild.” That was my thought process. Rebuilding is never fun. No general manager or field manager likes the word “rebuild.” Because rebuilding usually means losing a lot of games over a significant number of years.

“This is my second rebuild, so I did experience some losses, but it was worth it to maintain excellence and be competitive for eight to 10 years and play a competitive game at the end of the season.” It’s worth it.”

Managing Principal Owner Mark Lerner praised Rizzo & Company’s efforts last month (What remains in the front office after significant changes have already been made this offseason), executed to proceed with the rebuild or reboot, etc. In an interview with MASN’s Dan Kolko.

“I think the future is very bright. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Lerner told the MASN hosts. “I think we’re going to see some really great changes over the next few years that will take us to another level. Another thing to keep in mind is how do we compare to other organizations that have done this? When we do, we’ll probably have a complete turnaround faster than any team that’s ever done it. Most teams are in their 8-9-10 year and still trying to turn things around. Some teams don’t.

“It’s only our second full year, but I see a lot of potential. I truly believe we can get back to the playoffs within the next two years.”

Rizzo said in announcing the extension that the ownership group is fully committed to this process and that the possibility of selling the team during his extended term would impact what the club has done over the past two years. He said it was not a thing. of reboot.

“I haven’t talked to them about their commitment or whether they’re going to sell the team or anything like that,” the GM said.

Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images

“I have never seen the Lerner family and owners so involved, focused and focused on this this year and the last few years.

“Trust me when you hear reports that they have one foot in and one foot out, those are not the people I deal with on a daily basis.

“These guys are into it. They’re working every step of this rebuild. They’re going to come out the other side, start winning some games, start being contenders in this league, be champions again. I look forward to flying the ship’s flag. I have no evidence of this. [ownership group] Mark Lerner, in particular, was outside the middle. They’re working hard and they want to win, but I have no idea they want to fire the team and sell it. ”

Asked late this season to assess the state of the organization at this point in the process, Rizzo had some thoughts, which he shared at length.

“I think we’ve seen a lot of growth in a lot of players this season, and that’s important, especially the young players,” Rizzo began.

“The important thing for me is to take the next step. I think you’ve seen some young pitchers take the next step. [MacKenzie] Goa, [Josiah] gray, [Jake] Irvin, players at the major league level have taken the next step. There are relief pitchers in the bullpen who have taken the next step. We developed the bullpen backend almost from scratch.

“What you’re talking about is [Kyle] Finnegan, how to get it, and [Hunter] Harvey, the way he got it. [Jordan] Weems, the way he was acquired.

“These players were developed here at the big league level by our coaches, so we’re proud of that. I’m proud.

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

“We know what happens at the minor league level and the prospect level, but when you see the team improve; [Keibert] with Lewis [CJ] Acquired Abrams and Lane Thomas, making them young prospects [Jacob] Young, and we’re looking at a 25-year-old [Carter] Kieboom will be, and now Luis Garcia is back in the big leagues. It’s a very exciting young team.

“You do that [Jake] Ars of the world, and [James] with woods [Brady] I can see why there’s so much excitement about housing and that type of thing and not only within our organization but within our fan base as well. Because they are seeing this timeline come to fruition. They see the end of the tunnel for this rebuild and we’ve been through this before too, so there’s a timeline, there’s a blueprint for how this is going to work, and we’ve been through this before. Reflecting the restructuring, we hope that we can reach another 10 years of dominance in the near future. ”

Asked about his short-term and long-term goals, Rizzo said in late September that he wanted the club to continue fighting and ultimately move forward, before speaking about his mid-term and ultimate goals.

“The interim goal is to continue this rebuilding process in a positive manner,” he explained.

“If we can get our good young players to take the next step in their development, whether it’s in winter league, Arizona fall league, or going into spring training, they’re going to be as good as we’ve ever been. Just continue the success rate of the minor league system with these elite prospects.

“We moved from a minor league system where we had a lot of minor league players at the major league level, but when it comes to prospects and depth at the minor league level. [it] It was short because we were competitive with the major leagues for about 10 years. So we used a lot of our prospect capital to continue winning at the big league level.

“We’ve refilled it. We think we have something better, deeper, more impactful. [minor league] We plan to use the in-game system at the Major League level in the near future to help return to championship level clubs. ”

What’s the next step in the process? It encourages the next generation of Major League-ready Nationals to see what they can do at the Major League level before seriously entertaining signing or trading a big-time free agent. I wonder if they do?

Photo by Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Will the Nationals now supplement their in-house talent with free agent signings in areas needed to speed up the process? Will it be the same this winter? Next winter?

“I think [there are] It’s two parts of the problem,” Rizzo said, distinguishing between the continued development of prospects and moves that address Major League Baseball’s needs. “The first part is, as they say in the commercials, players don’t get here before their time. Everyone has their own developmental schedule. Like in the past. Whether they’re 18 or 19 or 27, we develop players that we believe are ready to make an impact for us at the big league level.

“We develop players at their own pace and get them to the big leagues when we think they need to go to the big leagues. They can help us, no matter their age. Masu.”

“As far as this offseason, we’re definitely going to do a deep dive into where our weaknesses are and where we need to improve. We have the depth to make up for it, whether it’s at the major league level or the minor league level. Where do I lack? Because of my position, I think I’ll be working in the same way as before. I don’t know yet at what level I’ll interact, but suffice it to say I want to improve the team. We’re not happy with the jump in wins from last year to this year, but our goal is to win and there’s no better time than now.”