Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez has agreed to a two-year contract extension with the club he led to the 2019 World Series championship, according to multiple reports.
Martinez’s new deal was first reported by The Athletic, which also reported that longtime general manager Mike Rizzo is close to an extension as well.
The existing contracts for both Martinez and Rizzo are due to expire at the close of this season, part of the 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 is 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 the team 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. Even with a recent hot streak, the club was 57-68 and in last place heading into Tuesday’s series opener against the New York Yankees.
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.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.