Nationals Rumors

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made his weekly appearance on the Sports Junkies show on 106.7 FM The Fan this morning and discussed a wide range of topics, beginning (and focusing most heavily) on recent comments from his manager Davey Martinez and the team’s 10-game losing streak (audio link to full show, with Rizzo’s interview commencing around the 2 hour, 24 minute mark). He also touched on key differences between the 2019 Nats’ early struggles and the current team’s struggles, things he’d like to see from catcher Keibert Ruiz, and on former top prospect Cade Cavalli’s progress in the minors. It’s a broad-reaching interview full of lengthy and candid answers that Nats fans, in particular, will want to check out in full.

Martinez found himself at the center of some controversy in recent days, in large part due to contradictory statements on back-to-back days over the weekend. Speaking with the Nationals beat on Saturday, Martinez adamantly defended his coaching staff before suggesting that the onus for turning around amid such a lengthy losing streak falls to the players. The next day, Martinez suggested he was merely voicing support for his coaching staff and claimed, confoundingly, that he’d never mentioned his players. Per Andrew Golden of the Washington Post, Martinez’s lack of accountability for his comments left some players “pissed [off].”

Via the Post’s Spencer Nusbaum, Martinez stated the following on Saturday:

“Sometimes they got to go out there and they got to play the game. It’s always been about the players. Always. I played this game a long time. Never once have I blamed a coach for anything. [As players], we worked our asses off to get better. They gave us information, and we used it. These guys understand what the game is. … Sometimes you got to put the onus on the players. They got to go out there, and they got to play the game — and play the game the right way. We can’t hit for them. We can’t catch the balls for them. We can’t pitch for them. We can’t throw strikes for them. They got to do that.”

A day later, when asked about his comments and pressed further who he was referencing if not his players, he replied:

“Was never about them, right? I never mentioned anything about players, right? I appreciate those players. I played. I understand how hard this game is. They know that. So it’s a difficult game. These guys are out there trying hard. We got to do the little things. As I talked about, we start doing little things, we’ll start winning some of these games.”

Certainly, Martinez is in an unenviable spot. His team is mired in its worst losing streak since dropping a dozen straight games back in 2008, under a different manager, coaching staff and front office. Balancing the desire to voice support for his coaching staff while rallying his players and holding everyone accountable for the team’s struggles — all while facing mounting speculation about your own job security — is a tough task.

At the same time, it’s understandable if some players were irked — not necessarily even by being called out but by Martinez’s apparent unwillingness to take ownership of those comments just 24 hours later. The longtime Nats skipper, who won a World Series there in 2019, made clear Sunday that he’d “talked to a lot of [his players]” already and suggested there were no issues. Golden’s subsequent reporting, which cited “multiple” anonymous sources familiar with the situation, suggests otherwise. It’s possible — if not likely — that the set of comments hit different players differently. Some likely had an easier time shrugging things off than others.

There’s been plenty of speculation about Martinez, who’s reportedly in the final guaranteed year of his contract (although the Nats hold a 2026 option over him as well). Rizzo noted that if given the chance to do it again, Martinez “would have gotten his point across — which was ’support the coaches’ — in a smoother or better way that didn’t ruffle the feathers of the fan base.”

However, the GM opined that the story took on more life among fans and the media than in the clubhouse itself. Rizzo stated that he doesn’t “see any unrest or unhappiness” among his players and added that Martinez talked things over with the players following his comments. More broadly, he gave Martinez a rather resounding vote of confidence.

“Dave Martinez is as player-friendly a manager as I’ve ever had. He and Dusty Baker, to me, run the clubhouse like no one else I’ve ever had in my career. … This guy does 500, 600 interviews a year; he does two a day — pre-game, post-game, every time. He got caught in a frustrating, angry moment and kind of lashed out. I think it was out of frustration. Here’s my take on that situation. There’s onus on the players. There’s onus on the coaches. There’s onus on the manager, and there’s a great onus on the general manager to do a better job.

“…To me, Davey is the same manager in the clubhouse when there’s no cameras and there’s no media in the room. He’s the same guy he was in that Marlins series [this weekend] as he was on Oct. 30, 2019. Same guy.”

It’s clear based on Rizzo’s comments today that the Nationals’ 2019 World Series victory carries plenty of weight in his regard for Martinez — understandably so. The GM noted that at the time of Washington’s 19-31 start in 2019, there were also calls for Martinez’s job. While acknowledging and empathizing with the frustration the fan base feels, he stressed that it’s his job to take a “big picture” look and keep in mind the “entirety of a season” that still has more than three months remaining.

“My job as the leader of the organization is that when things are at their craziest and most stressful, I have to be at my calmest and my best,” said Rizzo. “When things are at their worst, I have to be at my best. That’s my message that I gave to our coaching staff the other day.”

Rizzo repeatedly dismissed the notion that there was pressure from ownership to make personnel changes in the front office or dugout. He spoke at length about the differences between the 2019 Nats — a veteran-laden team that engineered one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent MLB history — and the 2025 Nats, a young team where the average level of major league service time per player isn’t even three years. Through it all, he maintained confidence in his skipper and continued to place blame back on himself.

“[Martinez] has proven through trials and tribulations that he can handle a roster. He can handle a veteran-laden team, and now he’s developing at the big league level. My track record is, I have fired managers midseason, I’ve fired managers after the season, I’ve fired coaches midseason, I’ve fired coaches after the season. We’re all being evaluated. We’ve all got to look ourselves in the mirror. We’re at a point right now where we’re moving forward the development of these young kids. I think Davey still has the pulse of the clubhouse. He’s a great clubhouse presence. He’s a calming clubhouse presence.

I’m responsible with everything that goes on, the good and the bad, the 10-game losing streak — that’s my team that I put out there. I take responsibility for the successes and the failures of this franchise, and I think that’s what leaders do.”

Turning to more specific issues with the roster, Rizzo was asked about catcher Keibert Ruiz’s declining defensive grades since signing his eight-year, $50MM contract extension. The GM made no secret that he feels his catcher “needs to get back to where he was,” plainly opining that Ruiz “was a better catcher, thrower and blocker” earlier in his career. Rizzo called catcher a “beatdown position” that takes a physical toll on any player and suggested that Ruiz is feeling some of those effects.

Defensive metrics bear that out. Ruiz, 27 next month, drew strong defensive marks from scouts as a prospect and posted quality numbers early on in the majors. In 2022, his first full season in the majors, the former top prospect posted a 28.2% caught-stealing rate that checked in four percentage points better than average and drew positive blocking grades from Statcast. His framing drew below-average but not egregiously poor marks. For a then-23-year-old catcher who’d slashed .255/.315/.373 (94 wRC+) in his career — all at a time when most young catchers are still in the minors — it was a nice start.

Things have subsequently deteriorated, with Ruiz hitting .241/.286/.374 since. He showed more power in 2023-24, but in 2025 Ruiz has just two homers, a .252/.286/.322 batting line (71 wRC+) and dramatically worse defensive grades. Dating back to Opening Day 2023, Ruiz has -18 Defensive Runs Saved and a -36 Fielding Run Value from Statcast. He led the league in stolen bases allowed in 2023 and is doing so again in 2025 — although he also leads the NL in total runners thrown out this year (in part because teams seem so willing to run on him). Rizzo expressed optimism that an offensive turnaround was nigh, pointing to the fact that Ruiz has typically been a much better performer in the season’s second half.

Again, data bears that out, but it’ll be interesting to see how the organization’s valuation of Ruiz changes if his struggles at the plate continue — particularly with his defensive regression. He’s still signed through 2030, but not at such a significant annual rate that they can’t make a change if they feel such a move is warranted.

On young righty Cade Cavalli, who’s pitching in Triple-A and has completed his rehab from 2023 Tommy John surgery, Rizzo suggested the goal is to get the former top prospect to the point where he can consistently contribute five or six innings at a time in the majors. The 26-year-old boasts a 2.30 ERA and 28.3% strikeout rate over his past six starts but has thrown just 27 1/3 innings in that time (less than 4 2/3 innings per outing). Presumably, Cavalli will get a look back in the majors later this summer, but after he pitched just 8 1/3 innings total in 2023-24, the Nats seem to be treading lightly. Cavalli tossed 79 pitches in his most recent start, and that represents his most in any game this year.