Mike Rizzo Contract: Nationals extend General Manager to long-term deal amid organizational disarray

The Washington Nationals have announced a contract extension for Mike Rizzo to remain as both the president of baseball operations and general manager of the team. While the move to extend Rizzo appeared likely, given the organization's recent turmoil, the timing of the extension feels a bit odd.

"Mike Rizzo is the 3rd longest tenured Head of Baseball Ops and he's now signed onto a multi-year extension with the @Nationals! @jonmorosi | @LaurenShehadi | #MLBCentral" - @MLBNetwork

Mike Rizzo's contract extension comes after the team decided to completely revamp its scouting department by laying off several employees. According to Brittany Ghiroli for The Athletic, the franchise notified nearly a dozen employees that they would not be returning to the club for the 2024 campaign.

The club's disarray has not only affected life in the front office and scouting department but also the saga surrounding the retirement of injured ace Stephen Strasburg.

It was announced that a special retirement press conference was to be held this season, with a jersey retirement coming next season. However, seemingly out of nowhere, the franchise opted to change their minds, scrapping the idea completely.

"Developing story: Stephen Strasburg’s retirement press conference slated for Saturday has been cancelled, multiple sources say. The plan was to honor him and retire his number but the Nationals have changed course." - @Britt_Ghiroli

While the Washington Nationals have plenty of work to do this offseason, they were able to extend their current leadership. Aside from the announcement that the Nats had re-signed Rizzo to remain in his current role, the team also agreed to a two-year extension with manager Davey Martinez.

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Mike Rizzo's extension will allow him to continue to craft the club's current rebuild

Although recent years have not been friendly to the Washington Nationals, Mike Rizzo has enjoyed a successful tenure with the club. His most successful season came in 2019 when the Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros to win the World Series.

Now, the club finds itself well outside of World Series contention. That being said, Rizzo and company have slowly built up a solid collection of young talent, including Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, and Brady House.

While the terms of Mike Rizzo's extension have not yet been released, he will have at least a few seasons to tinker with the promising young lineup.