Manager Dave Martinez #4 of the Washington Nationals shakes hands with Nick Castellanos #8 of the Philadelphia Phillies following the Nationals 4-3 win during the 2023 Little League Classic at Bowman Field on August 20, 2023 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Washington: Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez agreed to a new two-year contract with the club he led to the 2019 World Series championship.
The Nationals said Tuesday, before opening a series at the New York Yankees at night, that Martinez is getting what they called a multiyear extension without revealing for how long.
A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press it is for two years; the person spoke on condition of anonymity because the terms were not announced.
The Nationals entered Tuesday with a 57-68 record and last in the NL East.
The Athletic reported that general manager Mike Rizzo was close to a new contract, too.
The existing contracts for both the skipper and the GM expire at the close of this season, part of what has been a lot of uncertainty around a team that is in the middle of a rebuilding effort on the field and has been for sale off it.
Martinez's record with Washington entering Tuesday was 378-455, a .454 winning percentage.
The former major league player took over as the manager of the Nationals in 2018, his first job leading a team.
The next year, Washington got off to a 19-31 start before stars such as Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Juan Soto, Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner helped surge to a NL wild-card berth. The Nationals eventually defeated the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the World Series for the franchise’s first title.
The going has been a little rougher since then, to say the least: Washington has finished with a losing record and at the bottom of the NL East every year.
That is a result of Rizzo’s attempt to revamp the roster, a work-in-progress that began in earnest with a swap that shipped Scherzer and Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2021 trade deadline and netted two key building blocks in return: 2023 All-Star pitcher Josiah Gray and catcher Keibert Ruiz.
There was more, including sending Soto to the San Diego Padres for a package that included current starting shortstop CJ Abrams.
