BREAKING: THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS SHOCKINGLY FIRE PRESIDENT MIKE RIZZO

BREAKING: THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS SHOCKINGLY FIRE PRESIDENT MIKE RIZZO

The Washington Nationals just stunned the baseball world and they have fired president of baseball ops Mike Grizzo and manager Dave Martinez. Everybody, this makes no sense. [Music] You are Locked On Nationals, your daily Washington Nationals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And thank you all for making Locked on Nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And of course, I am your host Ryan Clary. can catch me over on Twitter, Ryanclary1, and as well as our show page at l_nationals. For all your latest Nationals news and notes, make sure to check us out over on Twitter. And of course, look up Locked on Nationals wherever you get your podcast, whether it’s on Apple, Spotify, and of course, the video version over on YouTube. Again, just look up Locked on Nationals. And everybody, there is no teases for today’s show. The Washington Nationals have fired president of baseball operations Mike Grizzo and Dave Martinez. Later on in the show today, we will be getting into how did we get here with president of baseball ops Mike Grizzo and how on a week before you draft number one overall that you move off the guy who makes that decision. We’ll have that discussion for you later on in the show today. But first off, we just have to react. And everybody, this move makes no sense. The timing of it at least makes no sense. This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money and take control of your finances with Monarch Money and use code locked on MLB at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. July 6, 2025 is a day that Nationals fans will remember forever and really baseball fans because again, my first thought when the Nationals fired the GM and president of baseball ops since 2009, Mike Rizzo, was why right now? Why would the Nationals do this right now? you are one week away from making the number one overall pick and this team is not very good. But let’s just kind of make sense of the timing of this for right now because the first thing again that we were all thinking and that Nationals fans were thinking was that okay Dave Martinez who was also fired that kind of makes sense. The Nationals have been a bad team. He made some comments a few weeks ago and kind of blamed the players and rather than falling on the sword himself and took the backs of his coaching staff and that’s kind of when a lot of people were saying this is not going to last after this season. Well, the learners, they decided to make a change today. We’ll have that Dave Martinez discussion later on in the week ahead because there’s a lot to break down and really just the future of the Nationals in general. But I really want to hone in on Mike Grizzo in this move because this is the move that quite frankly the timing of it makes no sense. It’s jarring. No one expected the guy to make the number one overall pick and forget of the past. Forget the past for a second. Forget that the Nationals have been a bad team and a poorly run organization since 2020. Forget that for a second. What if I told you in your profession that you are going to be making a huge decision that’s going to be changing the direction of your franchise, the direction of your business in just one week. And you have been working all year long to make that selection and make that pick and make that budget or whatever it is. And I tell you a week before, you know what? You’re not gonna make that pick. That’s what just happened with Mike Rizzo. And getting into it, Mike Rizzo, I have said it all along, Mike Rizzo is a good GM, but let’s be honest, he is not a small market GM of which the Nationals have been run like the last few seasons. The Nationals have been run from ownership like they are a small market team. News flash learners, this is not a small market. This is Washington DC. This is a top 10 sports market. Whichever way that you look at it, you have spent big money before. Mike Rizzo is not a draft and develop guy. Mike Rizzo would not do well in Tampa Bay. Mike Rizzo would not do well in Pittsburgh. Mike Rizzo would not do well with the Rockies. He would not do well drafting and developing. It’s not his thing. He is a big market GM. Unfortunately for Mike Grizzo, we have not had a big market checkbook for the last few seasons here. So Mike Grizzo has not been able to do what he does best. When I think of Microzone, what he has done tremendously over the years is signing big free agents, whether it be guys like Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin, who helped us win a World Series, guys making moves and trading Juan Sodto and getting back James Wood and McKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams, Harleen Susanna. That trade is something that will live with this fan base for the rest of time. But I go back to who really is at fault here and really what the damage and really who has done that damage. And who has done that damage right now is the ownership group. But to kind of reel this conversation back in, the timing of this is jarring right now. who expected after you just got your, you know, you just got your teeth kicked in by the Boston Red Sox, who are not a very good team. They’re not a very well-run organization at this point. They’ve got a great farm system, but you just got swept and it was not a very pretty series, but no one no one was clamoring for Mike Rizzo to be fired at this point. No one was clamoring for there to be a complete change in this front office. And which by the way, Mikeo has been here since 2009. It’s not like you’re moving off someone who has a track record these past five seasons where you’re like, he’s a bad GM. It’s been 15 16 seasons at this point in time with Rizzo. This moving this move is stunning to say the least. And right now with where the Nationals are, you have to think to yourself, what is the direction of this organization? Because as far as I’m concerned, you guys obviously don’t know this. I was 10 years old when Mike Rizzo was hired as a GM. I’ve been a baseball fan since I was a young kid. But really, no one knows a GM when you’re 8 years old. All I’ve known is Mike Rizzo and Mike Rizzo being in charge of the Washington Nationals. Now you’re going to have a change of direction, which by the way, the Nationals had made a decision as far as who their interim GM is. It’s Mike De Bartolo who is the assistant GM. He will serve as the interim GM for the Nationals. We will get into him much later on in this week, likely around Wednesday or Thursday, and just kind of the direction of this front office. But I need to go back to the timing of this. Maybe, you know, you can tweet at me at Ryan Clary1. Make this timing make sense. You are one week away from just a huge decision that we just talked about this past week, by the way, that could totally change the trajectory of this organization. You have the number one overall pick. You have to hit a home run with this pick. That’s what we were talking about. What we did not talk about was that Mike Grizzo might not have that opportunity to make that change to have that guy, whether it be Ethan Holiday or Kate Anderson. The work that has been done on this draft and on this trade deadline even could be good as gone. We don’t really know who runs the draft. It has been widely speculated that it is Brad Colic, formerly of the Baltimore Orioles, who he ran the draft there for them as well. But right now with where the Nationals are going, how do you feel about the direction of this team? Because the only direction that we have known for the past 15 years and really the only success that the Washington Nationals have had is Mike Rizzo under the GM. But I must say this, I do think this move is a good one. I do think that after this season, I was ready for fresh leadership. I was ready for a fresh approach into free agency, into making trades, and into developing guys because those had been some real big issues of mine these past few seasons. and the learner ownership group. They decided today, July 6, 2025, after 15 plus years as our president of baseball operations, Mike Rizzo is no more. One week away from making that number one overall pick, which he has not done since selecting Bryce Harper back in 2010, they are not giving him that opportunity. And the Learner family, they have moved on. What a jarring decision from the timing aspect of this from the middle of the season and quite frankly the timing of this will never make sense to me. But here’s what does make sense to me. What has gone wrong? And I will say as we mentioned a few minutes ago, this is the correct decision. The timing of it doesn’t really make sense. But moving on from Mike Rizzo, I can give you a list of reasons of how we got here today. I’ll give you those. But before that, I got to tell you guys about our friends at Monarch Money. You ever wish managing your money felt easier? Well, with Monarch Money, it can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat. 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So, take control of your finances with Monarch Money and use code locked on MLB at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com. Code locked on MLB for half off your first year. And thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals your first listen. We are free and available wherever you get your podcast. If you missed it, the Washington Nationals have fired president of baseball operations Mike Kriszo and Dave Martinez. On tomorrow’s show, we will talk about Dave Martinez and why this is the correct decision. Because I think Dave Martinez, he was a walking dead man at this point. We all knew that that was not going to be lasting for long. We knew he would not be back in 2026. But what we did not know was that the Nationals would fire president of baseball operations Mike Grizzo in the middle of the season. So, how did we get here? My number one reason why we got here was the fact that Mike Grizzo was unable to draft and develop. Mike Rizzo over the years has not been able to draft well. He has not been able to develop well. And quite frankly, it’s just gotten old. If you look around baseball today, and I think it’s easy to point to the Dodgers and say, well, they’re a great run organization. Their ownership is amazing. They spend money and they develop very well. Look at an organization like, let’s say, the Mariners. They have developed well over the years. They have had some turbulence over the past few seasons and they’ve been able to stockpile a lot of talent. But the one thing that Jerry Dotto does well is that he does have a nice hit rate with the MLB draft. Mike Rizzo since the Nationals have not been spending since really 2020. We have not hit on the draft. You have Brady House. He’s a success at this point in time. He’s been a good player, but really after that, you’ve got guys like Jacob Young, a fine player, but relatively replaceable. You have first round picks like Elijah Green. We’re sitting here wondering whether or not he’ll ever make double A. Seriously, that’s what we are discussing. last year receiver king. It’s what year one, but right now I don’t think he’s really worth the 10th overall pick because we’ve seen guys really low pass him and that was the big question whether the Nationals could really develop this toolsy guy because he was very raw and we all kind of knew like this might not last from where the Nationals are. My number one reason with why Mike Rizzo and why the Nationals should have moved on from Mike Grizzo is the fact that he has not been able to develop talent. That Juan Sodto trade, take it away for a second. I could have made that Juan Sodto trade. You could have made that Janu trade when you have AJ Prowler offering you all that talent with James Wood, CJ Abrams, McKenzie Gore. Those are three all-star players right now. easy. You make that trade. And on top of that, you still have Harleen Susanna and you had Robert Hassel III, another former first round pick. That’s a pretty easy trade to make. Take those guys out of the system right now. You have Brady House and you have Travis Sakora. Good talent. But what about where the guys over the years? What about the former first round picks like Carter Keyboom? Where is Eric Fetty? Whereas guys like Jackson Rutled, these are first round picks. And even forget the first round picks, we can talk about the second round pick, the third round picks, the international signings. These guys have not hit. They have not been able to develop talent for quite some time. And if you look at the 2010s, you developed Anthony Rendone, you developed Bryce Harper and Steven Strawber and Juan Sodto and Ren Done. All the talent, the whole core, you made savvy signings that made this team look really smart, but we have not been that seasons. And this is why Mike Rizzo is simply not the guy for the job moving forward. This makes sense to me moving on from Mike Grizzo. Again, the timing of this is weird. It is a weird time to move on from him. From, again, going back to that first segment, the timing makes no sense at all. But once you start to look at it from an unbiased perspective, this makes sense. Mike Rizzo has not been a great GM for quite some time. He has made some great moves. I think he has made some savvy trades, but the signings have been okay. The development has not been there. And for a team that has been as bad it is as it has been for the past five seasons since winning that World Series, you don’t really have a farm system to show for it. I think a great example is the Detroit Tigers. And look what they have done since moving on from uh Alex A or not Alex Aila the father of Alex Aila and who was the GM for the Tigers for a long time. They moved off him in 2023 and since then the Tigers number one they do spend a little bit more money now but guys that we all thought were bust like Spencer Torlson has turned it around. Riley Green has been incredible. They have a great farm system loaded with talent. That is a team that did not develop well since they started a rebuild in the mid2010s. And now all of a sudden in just a few seasons, you’re seeing a ton of real big league talent there. That’s kind of the dream for the Nationals at this point. This rebuild, I think we can answer this question later on this week, whether this rebuild has been a success or a failure at this point. But when I think of a rebuild, I think of how GMs and how front offices can develop talent and how can you put young cheap talent in places and have them succeed and Mike Rizzo has not done that outside of guys like James Wood and CJ Abrams and McKenzie Gore. But let’s be honest, those guys were basically complete products. James Wood, they deserve credit for that. He’s a superstar. he’s going to be an MVP candidate someday. But guys like Gore and Abrams, they’re already there in the majors and they’ve gotten better and they have been better. And I think a lot of people are very pleasantly surprised where CJ Abrams is today. But for the Nationals, development has not been there. And unfortunately for Mike Grizzo, that is one of the key parts of his job. We have failed in the development part of this. We have failed getting these top prospects up and having them succeed. We have failed in areas that the Nationals should be hitting home runs on, which is picking top 10 in the MLB draft and hitting on those guys. Because again, I look back to Elijah Green. He is in rookie ball. Rookie ball. He was a 2022 first round pick. It’s unacceptable. I look at guys who are top international signes. Christian Vicero, those are harder to hit, but you gave him an international signing bonus back in 2020. He’s in Fredericksburg, the low of Frederick. It’s like, what are we doing? The timing of this again makes no sense. I’ll say that all day long. I’ll say that all week. But once you start to look at it and why the Nationals made this move, the move makes sense. This organization lacks direction. Does it start with ownership? Absolutely. But again, a real close second is the development. This Nationals team under Mike Grizzo the past few seasons, they simply have yet to develop any big-time talent. And let’s be honest, it’s not good enough. And it has not been good enough. and the learner family, they decided today on July 6 that it is not good enough. So, we gave you another reason as to why the Nationals moved on from president of baseball operations Mike Grizzo. Next, I’m going to get into the statement that the learners put out today. Let’s kind of get in to really just what our thoughts are of this jarring decision as the Nationals fired longtime president of baseball operations Mike Grizzo and also fired manager Davy Martinez. And of course on tomorrow’s show, we will get into Dave Martinez and how he got here as to why the Nationals moved off their World Series winning manager. But next, the learners put out a statement and it’s pretty juicy. We’ll discuss that after this. Thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And of course, the Washington Nationals have made a move that not a lot of people expected and that is moving on from president of baseball operations Mike Grizzo and manager Davey Martinez. and Dave Martinez. We will have a ton to discuss about him on tomorrow’s Locked on Nationals. So, hit that subscriber button again wherever you get your podcast. But, and just for those who may have missed it, Mike Deeparollo, who is Mike Rizzo’s longtime top assistant GM, he will take over as the interim GM and an interim manager will be named on Monday that we’ll have tomorrow on tomorrow’s locked on nationals. But principal owner Mark Learner released a statement today and this is what he had to say. Quote, “On behalf of our family and the Washington Nationals organization, I first and foremost want to thank Mike and Davey for their contributions to our franchise and our city.” Learner said, “Our family is eternally grateful for their years of dedication to the organization, including their roles in bringing a World Series trophy to Washington, DC. While we’re appreciative of their past successes, the onfield performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be. This is a pivotal time for our club and we believe a fresh approach and new energy is the best course of action for our team moving forward. Senior vice president and assistant GM baseball operator Mike Darollo has been named the interim GM and of course Dartolo will oversee all aspects of baseball operations including the upcoming MLB firstear player draft alongside other key members of the department. An announcement will be made on the interim manager sometime on Monday. Guys, Mark Learner is right. this team where let’s let’s kind of take it back real quick where Mike Rizzo messed up and kind of why he got into a sticky situation with his fan base is the fact that he spent all off season talking about how this team is ready to win. He would go on the radio and he would say this team is ready to win. It was never ready to win. And as much as we want to blame ownership, as much as we want to say, well, they don’t spend money, they don’t. They deserve a lot of blame here. But also, Mike Rizzo does not develop. Mike Rizzo, from what I can tell here, has not done a great job in really what his main job is, which is development. And the long speculation of Mike Grizz over the years is that he has not been into analytics. He has always been far behind on it. And as we talked about this last week, he went on and and discussed about their Spencer Nusbomb story in the Washington Post about how the Washington Nationals have not invested in a technology that 25 of 30 MLB teams have at their home park. One of those five teams were the Washington Nationals that do not have that technology that gives their players an edge. I’m not saying that’s a Mike Rozo decision. It’s likely an ownership decision, but if Mike Rizzo really wanted that, if he really pushed for it, I would like to think that the learners would probably make that decision. I believe that the lack of analytics and really just the lack of a lot of different things that goes back to development, but development nowadays really coincides with analytics. I think analytics is also another reason why the learner family decided today is the day to move on from Mike Rizzo. There could be something else in there that we do not know that might be outside of the baseball world. I don’t think that’s the case. I think Mike was a great guy, but the timing of this decision again just makes no sense. It makes no sense as to why the Nationals do this a week away before the MLB draft. And maybe another reason why they decide to move off it, maybe everyone in the front office is going to ownership saying, “Listen, Mike Rizzo is your guy. He has been the GM that you hired when you guys bought this team. He’s your man. But let me tell you this, this guy is clueless with the number one pick. Maybe all the assistant GMs and the scouts are in that office saying, “This guy has no idea what he is doing and he is muddying up our pile of guys that we think should be the number one pick.” And Mike Rizzo, the game is passed him. I think that’s possible. Maybe not the guys going up to the ownership saying this guy can’t do this job anymore, but I do think the fact is that the game might just have passed Mike Rizzo. He comes from a generic scouting background with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was with the White Socks back in the day. Uh he’s a Chicago guy born through and through and came over here to DC. He built a contender. He won a championship. He brought a title back to DC, but he has not been a really recover from when the Nationals core got split apart. Losing Bryce Harper, that’s huge. Trading away Trey Turner, pretty big by the way, do not get that much for him. Having guys like Keowise where you stand on the table for Keowise, you stand on the table for Dave Martinez, you stand on the table for other guys who may have kind of swung and miss as far as the development goes. At some point, the rubber’s got to meet the road. And what the road is telling me at this point in time is that Mike Rizzo, the game is simply just past him. and the mistakes in the MLB draft, the mistakes in development, the lack of spending and analytics and just the swings and the misses time after time after time. It’s been done with with this team. I go back to again the timing of this decision. It’s stunning. It is absolutely stunning because a week from today, I will be on this show talking about the number one overall pick who is going to be entering this team. And quite frankly, that might affect some things. Having Dartolo come in this team and be the interim GM. My gosh, this is just a stunning thing on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of July, a week before you make that number one overall pick and you fire the man who is going to be making that selection. Make the timing of this make sense. But if you forget the timing real quick, I want to reiterate this. It is the correct decision. The Nationals made the correct move. the drafting and the developing within this organization that falls on Mike Rizzo. And that has not been good for years, a long, long time. And the Nationals today, they said enough is enough. We’re going to have a franchise altering player come in the doors in the next week and we don’t want Mike Rizzo to make that decision. And we don’t want Dave Martinez to be the manager for that guy. So that’s what the Nationals have decided to do. And on tomorrow’s show, we will discuss Dave Martinez being out as the manager for the Washington Nationals and what it means because that’s the less surprising move. But today, Mike Rizzo, that was a stunning decision by the Washington Nationals. So again, on tomorrow’s locked on Nationals, we will discuss Dave Martinez in the future and how we got here with the firing of him. We will also announce who the interim manager will be. We’ll have that and more on tomorrow’s locked on nationals. Enjoy today’s show. Think about it for a second. What went wrong with David Martinez? We’ll discuss that on tomorrow’s locked on nationals.

The Washington Nationals have fired longtime President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo and Manager Davey Martinez. Firing Mike Rizzo at this time is a STUNNING decision, and Ryan discusses how jarring of a decision this is one week away from the MLB Draft. We discuss how Mike Rizzo got to this point, why did the Lerner’s fire him after all?

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