Mike Rizzo Rumors

The Nationals announced that Mike Rizzo has signed a new long-term contract with the team and has been promoted to the position of President of Baseball Operations.  The exact length of the deal is not yet known for Rizzo, who will still keep the mantle of General Manager.

Rizzo, who was appointed GM in 2009 after serving as assistant GM since 2006, has been working on a new deal with the Nats since April.  Last year, in his fourth year at the helm, Washington won an MLB-best 98 games and the NL East title.

“Upon purchasing the Nationals, Mike Rizzo was our first hire and he has performed brilliantly,” said managing principal owner Theodore N. Lerner in the statement. “We started with an idea about how baseball teams should be built and he translated it into a reality far faster than many could have imagined. He knows the game, the players, and is a true professional. Under his direct leadership, the Nationals have become one of the most exciting and respected young teams in baseball.”

The Nationals exercised their 2014 option on Rizzo's contract in late April as they continued to negotiate on a fresh contract.  Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post speculated at the time that the move might have created a fizzure betwen the GM and the club since his that contract put him in the bottom third of salary for his position.  If there was an issue between the two sides, it appears to be water under the bridge with today's announcement. 

In an April 29th poll of over 28,000 MLBTR readers, 3.25% voted for the Nationals' Mike Rizzo as the best GM in baseball.  That placed Rizzo 13th overall; only Billy Beane received more than 9% of the vote.  A few days prior, the Nationals had exercised Rizzo's 2014 club option.  On the face of it, that move was seen as a show of support from ownership for the GM, as they were not obligated to make a decision until after the season.  At the time, it was reported that the two sides were working on an extension beyond 2014, and also noted that the Nats still retain a 2015 club option.

Upon deeper examination from Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, exercising Rizzo's club option may not have been a generous move by the team.  The move "may have created a potential fissure between ownership and its general manager," writes Kilgore.  Since Rizzo signed on in 2010 with no experience as a full-time GM, his contract was quite team-friendly, putting him in the bottom third in salary for his position and allowing for the pair of club options.  As we've seen with players with less than a year's service time, such as Matt Moore and Salvador Perez, the team has all the leverage at that point.

Nationals owner Mark Lerner seemed to admit Saturday that extension talks with Rizzo have not yet taken place, despite earlier statements to the contrary.  Lerner still expressed optimism for a deal, while Rizzo told Kilgore, "I’d like to be here for the long term. I hope the Lerner family feels the same way."

The Nationals want to keep General Manager Mike Rizzo in place for the long term and the club is currently in talks with him about a contract extension, according to Amanda Comak of The Washington Times.  Nats principal owner Mark Lerner confirmed that the two sides are discussing a new deal.

One source with knowledge of the discussion told Comak that the Nationals have already indicated they will exercise the 2014 option on Rizzo’s contract, securing him through at least next season.  The GM is currently entering the final guaranteed year of the five-year pact he signed before the 2011 season.  Any deal that is worked out between the two sides will have to include a significant pay raise for Rizzo, Comak writes.

Recently, Tim Dierkes recapped Rizzo's winter, which including signing the best available reliever in Rafael Soriano and re-signing Adam LaRoche.