Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo shot down the idea of replacing manager Dave Martinez with the recently fired Joe Maddon on Wednesday.

During an appearance on 106.7 The Fan's The Sports Junkies show (h/t Audacy's Logan Mullen), Rizzo dismissed the thought of firing Martinez for Maddon or anyone else:

"Terrible question, horrible question. That is such a radio station/media question—no, we will not do that. Dave Martinez is our manager, he's a great manager, he's a World Series championship manager, and he's the guy to take this team to the next level when we're prepared to do so—and I think we're prepared to do so in the near future."

The Los Angeles Angels fired Maddon on Tuesday on the heels of a 12-game losing streak that dropped them to 27-29 after a hot start to the season.

Maddon, 68, has been considered one of the best managers in baseball thanks largely to the success he enjoyed with the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs.

After stints as an interim manager with the Angels in 1996 and 1999, Maddon managed the Rays from 2006 to 2014 and the Cubs from 2015 to 2019 before landing back with the Angels ahead of the 2020 season.

He owns a career managerial record of 1,382-1,216 with eight playoff appearances and two trips to the World Series.

After losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 World Series as manager of the Rays, Maddon led the Cubs to a championship in 2016, marking their first World Series win since 1908.

Maddon's time with the Angels didn't go nearly as well. L.A. posted a below-.500 record in each of the past two seasons and has a losing record again this year.

While Maddon figures to generate plenty of interest, Rizzo made it clear Washington won't be his landing spot.

The Nats are rebuilding, as evidenced by their 21-36 record this season, 65-97 mark last season and 26-34 record in 2020.

Before that, the Nationals were perennial playoff and World Series contenders, reaching the postseason five times in eight years from 2012 to 2019.

That included winning the first World Series in franchise history in 2019 in Martinez's second season at the helm.

Martinez's overall record of 287-316 with one playoff appearance isn't sparkling, but Rizzo expressed belief in him and his ability to help the Nationals get back on track.

While the Nationals have no intention to trade Juan Soto, one rival coach believes the superstar outfielder isn't enjoying his time in Washington and should be playing elsewhere.

"Get Soto out of there. He has to be miserable," he told Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Nationals president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo said during an appearance on The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan this week that the team won't trade Soto before the August deadline and instead plans to build around him.

"We made it clear to his agent and to the player," Rizzo added. "... We have every intention of building this team around Juan Soto. We've spoken to his agent many, many times—recently sat with him when he was in Washington, D.C.—made it clear to him that we are not interested in trading him and I guess the rest of the world just doesn't believe it. But that's our position."

While the Nationals intend to keep Soto, who will become a free agent after the 2024 season, that doesn't mean he wants to stay in Washington. In February, ESPN's Enrique Rojas reported that the 23-year-old turned down a 13-year, $350 million extension with the club.

"Yes, they made me an offer a few months ago, before the lockout," Soto said. "But right now, my agents and I think the best option is to go year by year and wait for free agency. My agent, Scott Boras, has control over the situation."

At the time, Soto said he could see himself spending his entire career with the Nationals, though he might not think that way if the team's struggles continue.

The Nationals have finished at the bottom of the NL East standings in each of the last two seasons and missed out on the playoffs. The team is headed toward another season of disappointment as it currently sits last in the division with an 18-34 record.

That said, Soto hasn't performed to expectations this year either, batting .227/.376/.432 with nine home runs and 16 RBI in 52 games. For comparison, he had a career slash line of .301/.432/.550 entering this season.

It's unclear what type of deal Soto will seek once he hits free agency. However, he'll likely become one of MLB's highest-paid players on his next deal, joining the likes of fellow outfielders Mookie Betts and Mike Trout in making more than $30 million per year.

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo is putting the Juan Soto trade rumors to bed once and for all. 

"We are not trading Juan Soto," Rizzo said Wednesday on 106.7 The Fan's The Junkies.

Soto rumors have been ramping up amid the club's 18-33 record and the All-Star's seeming unwillingness to negotiate a long-term contract extension. At the advice of his agent, Scott Boras, Soto turned down a 13-year, $350 million contract offer during the offseason.

"My agents and I think the best option is to go year after year and wait for free agency," Soto told ESPN's Enrique Rojas in February. "My agent, Scott Boras, is in control of that situation."

The Nationals have two years of team control remaining after the 2022 season, meaning Soto cannot become a free agent until the winter of 2024. If he does wind up hitting the open market, it's possible, if not likely, Soto lands the largest contract in MLB history.

The 23-year-old has been a bona fide superstar since joining the Nationals during the 2018 season at age 19. Only six position players have a higher WAR since Soto was called up, and only Jose Ramirez has been better since the start of the 2019 season.

Unlike many of Soto's contemporaries, he will have the advantage of hitting free agency directly in his prime. A player this young and generationally great has arguably not hit the open market since Alex Rodriguez in 2000.

"We have every intention of building this team around Juan Soto, and we've spoken to his agent many, many times," Rizzo said Wednesday. "We recently sat with him when he was in Washington, D.C., and made it clear to him that we're not interested in trading him. I guess the rest of the world doesn't believe it, but that's our position."

Mike Trout currently has the largest contract in MLB history at 12 years and $426.5 million. Trout was 27 when he signed that deal with the Los Angeles Angels, one year older than the age Soto will be when he can become a free agent.

The Washington Nationals sold off many of their top players last season and have started this campaign just 13-26, so it wouldn't be shocking if they reprised their role of sellers. 

Just don't expect Juan Soto to be one of the departing players. 

 "Forget Soto trade ... not happening," his agent, Scott Boras, told Jon Heyman of the New York Post. 

And one person within the Nats' organization simply responded to Heyman, "That's not funny," regarding the Soto trade speculation.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the Nationals wouldn't want to deal the 23-year-old Soto, one of the game's brightest young superstars. He finished as the runner-up in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 and has finished top-10 in NL MVP voting in each of the past three seasons. 

This season he's hitting .250 with eight homers, 11 RBI, 26 runs and a .864 OPS in 39 games. While that production is below his normal pace (he slashed .313/.465/.534 last season and .351/.490/.695 in 47 games in 2020), he remains one of the most dangerous players at the plate. 

He's also under club control through the 2024 season, so there's little reason for the Nationals to move him now. 

If he were to be put on the trade market, a number of teams would surely be willing to pay an enormous price for the young game-changer, who already helped lead the Nationals to a World Series title in 2019. The Nationals could restock their farm system with one deal. 

The issue, of course, is that any prospect they got in return is unlikely to ever be as good as Soto. Superstars aren't easy to come by, and Soto is still very young—rebuilding around him makes more sense, especially if he's willing to ultimately commit to the team via a long-term extension. 

The Washington Nationals may reportedly be "compelled" to move superstar outfielder Juan Soto ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline given the lack of progress toward a contract extension.

ESPN's Buster Olney reported Wednesday the Nats would likely set a "really high price" since Soto can't become a free agent until after the 2024 season, but rival executives believe the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays would still be "motivated" suitors.

"If they're not going to sign him [to a long-term deal], then they'll need to trade him," an MLB source told Olney. "The question is: When?"

In February, Soto confirmed to ESPN's Enrique Rojas he turned down a 13-year, $350 million extension offer from the Nationals with an eye toward eventually hitting the open market.

"Yes, they made me the offer a couple of months ago, before the lockout we have in baseball," he said. "But right now, me and my agents think the best option is to go year after year and wait for free agency. My agent, Scott Boras, is in control of that situation."

While it's possible Soto's stance could change, Boras tends to encourage his high-profile clients to head for the free-agent market to maximize their contract value, and Washington will lose leverage in trade talks every day that endgame moves closer.

In turn, moving him this season so the acquiring team can get at least 2.5 years of value from the two-time Silver Slugger Award winner is probably the Nats' best bet.

Soto is one of MLB's best pure hitters. He's compiled a .297/.428/.544 slash line, 106 home runs and 35 stolen bases in 502 games across four-plus seasons. His .972 OPS would rank second among active players behind only the Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout (1.005) if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.

The 23-year-old Dominican Republic native is the type of acquisition who could shift the league's balance of power if he lands with a readymade contender such as the Padres or Blue Jays.

Meanwhile, the Nationals are already falling out of playoff contention, having posted the league's second-worst record (12-26), and will likely require a multiyear rebuild before they're ready to compete with the reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves or big-spending New York Mets in the NL East.

Trading Soto would land a couple of key pieces to help accelerate that process.

Olney reported a Padres offer could center around shortstop C.J. Abrams, who's ranked as the club's No. 1 prospect by MLB.com, and starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore, who's enjoying a strong start to his rookie season with a 2.17 ERA through six games (five starts).

Washington could also make other veterans such as Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz available ahead of the deadline, per Olney.

It ensures the Nationals will be a heavy focus of the rumor mill over the next few months.

The Washington Nationals may be for sale in the near future.

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reported the family of real estate magnate Ted Lerner is looking into potentially selling the team. Lerner's family purchased the Nationals from Major League Baseball 16 years ago.

His son, Mark D. Lerner, is now the managing principal owner and said his family hired New York investment bank Allen & Company to research potential buyers or investors.

"This is an exploratory process, so there is no set timetable or expectation of a specific outcome," Mark Lerner said. "The organization is as committed as ever to their employees, players, fans, sponsors and partners and to putting a competitive product on the field."

Allen & Company is no stranger to selling sports franchises having managed the sale of the New York Mets and the NFL's Carolina Panthers. They are also running the sale of the Denver Broncos.

The Lerners purchased the Nationals for $450 million in 2006, and Forbes values the franchise at $2 billion this year. That is 12th-highest in the league and represents a 4 percent increase from a year ago.

Svrluga explained the 96-year-old Ted Lerner transferred the day-to-day control of the team to his son in 2018, although the family "always has made decisions by consensus."

This stands in stark contrast to Mark's statement to the Washington Post in 2018 when he said: "We will never sell the Nationals. That's what we've worked to get all those years. We think we do a pretty good job of it. There's no intention of this family—certainly while I'm alive and my sisters and brothers-in-law are alive—nobody's going to sell this team."

Washington has won four National League East crowns with five playoff appearances since the Lerners purchased the team. The one year it made the playoffs as a non-division champion happened to be 2019 when it won the World Series as a wild card.

Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer and Juan Soto are among the stars that have suited for the Nationals in the Lerners' tenure. 

"This process does not impact the team's ability to make baseball decisions," team spokeswoman Jennifer Giglio said. "It will not distract the organization from our goal of being a first-class organization and fielding a winning team."

Washington went 65-97 last year and is off to a 1-3 start this year.            

Nelson Cruz isn't ready to give up the longball just yet.

The veteran slugger agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals on Sunday, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, with Cruz coming back for his 18th MLB season.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN reported Cruz will have a $12 million salary in 2022, and his deal includes a mutual option—with a $3 million buyout—for the 2023 season:

This comes one day after Rojas reported the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers were among eight teams pursuing the slugger. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported Sunday morning that Cruz was expected to decide between the Dodgers and Padres.

However, he will reportedly be taking his talents to the nation's capital now.

Of course, Cruz's market had expanded this month after the universal DH was implemented in the new collective bargaining agreement.

Cruz, 41, spent the 2021 season with the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays. He hit .265/ .334/.497 with 32 home runs and 86 runs batted in, the seventh straight full season he's hit over 30 home runs. (Cruz hit 16 homers in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.)

An All-Star only once before his 30th birthday, Cruz made his sixth post-30 All-Star team last season. He was also the recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award for his work providing dentistry and optometry to Las Matas de Santa Cruz in his native Dominican Republic.

"I never was doing what I was doing to be recognized or win awards, but it's always nice when people recognize the work that you put on to help others," Cruz said of the award. "I know all 29 other players that were nominated really deserved to win it. I just thank God that I was the one."

Cruz has hit 449 home runs and driven in 1,238 runs over the course of his career. He'll continue playing a DH-only role in 2022. He's only played one game in the last three seasons in the field.

Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto is believed to be seeking close to or above the current highest annual average value (AAV) in baseball for his next contract, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network.

ESPN's Enrique Rosas previously reported that Soto turned down the Nats' 13-year, $350 million offer.

"Yes, they made me an offer a few months ago, before the lockout," Soto told Rojas.

"But right now, my agents and I think the best option is to go year by year and wait for free agency. My agent, Scott Boras, has control over the situation."

Soto hit .313 (.999 OPS) with 29 home runs and 95 RBI last year in his age-22 season.

He is eligible to become a free agent in 2025.

Soto has been nothing short of exceptional for the Nats during his four-year career. He's hit .301 with a .981 OPS and sports a 162-game average of 34 home runs and 109 RBI.

Soto's career accolades include three top-10 finishes in the National League MVP voting, a pair of Silver Slugger awards and an All-Star Game appearance.

He very well could be the unquestioned best player in baseball by the time he hits free agency, but it appears he wants to be a National for life at this time.

"Anyway, I still think of Washington as the place where I would like to spend the rest of my career, so we will see," Soto said to Rojas.

That's good news for a Nationals team that tore its team apart last year, most notably trading a pair of 2019 World Series champion stalwarts in starting pitcher Max Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The rebuilding Nats went just 65-97 last season even with Soto dominating all year. Washington also needs to improve its farm system, with Keith Law of The Athletic (No. 27), Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report (No. 27) and Prospects 1500 (No. 25) notably ranking it low relative to the rest of MLB.

Obviously, the Nats would like to retain Soto, build up the farm system and work their way back to playoff contention, which was commonplace in the 2010s.

The Washington Nationals reportedly offered All-Star right fielder Juan Soto a 13-year, $350 million contract extension before the MLB lockout began Dec. 2.

ESPN's Enrique Rojas on Wednesday reported details of the proposal, which did not include deferred money.

"Yes, they made me the offer a couple of months ago, before the lockout we have in baseball," Soto told Rojas. "But right now, me and my agents think the best option is to go year after year and wait for free agency. My agent, Scott Boras, is in control of that situation."

The 23-year-old Dominican Republic native has emerged as one of MLB's best players since making his debut for Washington in May 2018. His 17.7 WAR over the past four seasons is tied for eighth among hitters, per FanGraphs.

Soto is coming off a campaign wherein he ranked third with a .999 OPS to go along with 29 home runs in 151 games. He's also a rarity in the modern game, as he recorded more walks (an MLB-best 145) than strikeouts (93). That 1.6 BB/K ratio led the majors and was nearly double the next closest qualified hitter (0.9 by the Houston Astros' Yuli Gurriel).

The left-handed slugger is arbitration-eligible through 2024 and can become a free agent ahead of the 2025 season.

If he continues to produce at an MVP level and lands on the open market, he will surely challenge for the richest deal in MLB history. That mark is held by the Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout with his 12-year, $426.5 million contract.

In March, ESPN's Jeff Passan suggested Soto could approach a $500 million deal as a free agent and provided comments from the outfielder:

If I get something like that, it's going to be a lot of people in a good spot. A lot of people around me [are] going to get helped by that money. That was the only thing that I think. I believe in God and he's always talking about give love to the people that you love and help the people, help the world, whatever you can. And that's how my mom and my dad helped me out with it, just trying to help people. For me, that's the only thing that gets to my mind when I hear about all the money.

The talk about Soto's free agency won't bring back welcome memories for Nats fans, as Bryce Harper bolted to the National League East-rival Philadelphia Phillies in 2019 for a 13-year, $330 million contract. Harper won the 2021 NL MVP Award.

A lot can change over the next three years, especially since MLB and the MLB Players Association are without a collective bargaining agreement, so it's probably too soon for Washington to start worrying too much about Soto's potential departure.

That said, there is pressure on the franchise to capitalize while one of MLB's top players leads its lineup. That would likely mean signing free agents to bolster the cast around Soto once the lockout ends.

After a 16-season career with the Washington Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman is hanging up his cleats.

He announced his retirement Monday:

Zimmerman and the Nationals had seemed to prepare for this moment at the end of the 2021 season. The crowd at Nationals Park gave him a standing ovation after he was removed from the final game of the regular season Oct. 3.

"Obviously, I have a special relationship with this fanbase and the community," he told reporters. "And talking with Heather last night, I think if I do retire this offseason and I didn't do anything today, I would have regretted it."

Zimmerman will go down as one of the most important players in Nationals history. He was the team's first draft pick (No. 4 overall) after the franchise relocated to Washington, D.C., from Montreal in 2005.

The Nats only kept him in the minors for 67 games before he made his big league debut Sept. 1, and he established himself as one of the best players in the National League. 

Zimmerman hit .287/.351/.471 with 20 homers and 110 RBI to finish second to the Florida Marlins' Hanley Ramirez in 2006 NL Rookie of the Year voting. Zimmerman was named to the NL All-Star team twice and had four top-25 finishes in NL MVP voting.

The Nationals finished under .500 in each of his first six full seasons. But he played a significant role in their breakout 2012 campaign when they won the NL East with a 98-64 record. 

Zimmerman posted an .824 OPS in 2012. He hit .381/.364/.714 in the NLDS, but the Nationals lost in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals. 

Washington made the playoffs five times from 2012-19. After losing in the NLDS in the first four appearances, the Nationals won the World Series in 2019. 

Zimmerman drove in their first run in that Fall Classic with a solo homer off Gerrit Cole in a Game 1 victory against the Houston Astros. 

The Washington, North Carolina, native is the Nationals' all-time leader in hits (1,846), runs (963), doubles (417), homers (284), RBI (1,061), strikeouts (1,384) and games (1,799).