
Nationals fire manager Dave Martinez, GM Mike Rizzo
Martinez, who helped Washington win the 2019 World Series in his second year on the job, nonetheless has a lopsided 500-622 record through 7 1/2 seasons as manager.
Following their sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox that concluded Sunday, the Nationals are 37-53, last place in the National League East and 16 games out of first.
They have the second-worst record in Major League Baseball since the start of the 2020 season at 325-473. Only the Colorado Rockies have been worse.
In a statement, Nationals managing principal owner Mark D. Lerner said Mike DeBartolo will serve as interim general manager, while a decision about the interim manager will be made Monday. DeBartolo was Washington's senior vice president and assistant GM of baseball operations.
"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," Lerner said in his statement. "Our family is eternally grateful for their years of dedication to the organization, including their roles in bringing a World Series trophy to Washington, D.C. While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field 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."
Martinez, 60, was a longtime MLB player and coach who won a World Series as the Chicago Cubs' bench coach before Washington gave him his first managerial job.
Rizzo, 64, had been with the Nationals since 2007, when he was hired as their assistant general manager. He was promoted to GM in 2009 and given the additional title of president of baseball operations in 2013.
--Field Level Media
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Enzo Maresca confident Chelsea can ‘find solutions' to selection issues
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca is confident he will find the right answers to the selection problems he is facing for their Club World Cup semi-final. The Blues take on Brazilian side Fluminense in New York on Tuesday for a place in Sunday's final. Striker Liam Delap and defender Levi Colwill are both suspended after receiving their second bookings of the tournament in the quarter-final win against Palmeiras. Midfielder Romeo Lavia has not recovered from a muscular problem and the fitness of captain Reece James continues to be monitored after a knock. Speaking at his pre-match press conference at the MetLife Stadium, Maresca said: 'I think in the last game we had Romeo out, Moi (Caicedo) out, Reece out and we found a solution with Andrey (Santos) playing in midfield. 'Now with Levi and Liam out, we will find different solutions.' Midfielder Moises Caicedo is available again after serving a ban and Nicolas Jackson and new signing Joao Pedro, who made his debut off the bench against Palmeiras, are competing to start up front. Maresca said: 'Romeo is training already. Unfortunately, though, he is not training with the team, so he is not ready for tomorrow. 'But Joao Pedro is ready and we also have Nico so, for sure, we will find a solution.' Chelsea are coming to the end of a long season that they began last August, whilst Fluminense are just 11 games into their Brazilian league campaign. Maresca said: 'In this tournament we have two different situations. 'How many games have the Brazilians played this season? We will have played 63 times. 'European teams come to this competition in a different way from the teams of the Brazil or the teams of South America, but the desire we have to win is the same.'


BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Maresca on Lavia's fitness, Madueke's mindset and Silva reunion
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media before Tuesday's Club World Cup semi-final against Fluminense at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey (20:00 BST).Here are the key lines from his news conference:Maresca confirmed Romeo Lavia will not be available and is currently back in training Noni Madueke's mindset amid reports linking him with a move to Arsenal: "Personally, I think it was the same noise before the Palmeiras. I don't have any doubt Noni can help us as he was very good for 30 minutes. I understand it is not easy to deal with the noise, also, but hopefully he can deal with that."When asked about coping without the suspended Levi Colwill and Liam Delap, Maresca said: "In the last game, we had Romeo out, Moi [Caicedo] out and Reece [James] out and we found a solution. With Levi and Liam out, we will find a different solution. Joao [Pedro] is ready, also Nico [Jackson]."On Jackson, who himself returns from suspension: "Nico is training well. Unfortunately, in almost his last two games he was sent off. Unfortunately for him and us. He is working well. He played the Conference League final and scored. At this moment, he is OK."Maresca believes new signing Joao Pedro can play in a variety of roles: "I think Joao can play in all the attacking positions for us, wide, number 10 and as a number nine. The difference with Nico is I see him as just a number nine whereas I see Joao in different positions."He was asked whether he wished his players were like former Blues defender and current Fluminense captain Thiago Silva and responded: "I am happy in the way our players are."On Silva, he added: We respect Thiago, absolutely. But we prepare the game against Fluminense. We need to be careful about many different things."On Caicedo's significance: "Moi has been one of the best players of the season. He's a very important player for us and his team-mates. We also have Romeo, we used Andrey Santos in that position - we are quite happy but more happy when Moi is in the team."


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Bill Belichick AND Deion Sanders both refused to be included in EA's new college football game
EA Sports released the deluxe edition of 'College Football 26' on Monday, with arguably the two most prominent coaches in college football in terms of mainstream appeal, Bill Belichick and Deion Sanders, not part of the game. This year's edition introduced coaches having their identities as part of game, not just the players with name, image, and likeness revenue sent their way. North Carolina 's Belichick and Colorado's Sanders will now have stand-ins taking their spots at the helm of the Tar Heels and Buffaloes respectively by not opting in to the game. The new Tar Heels coach is a man named Hector Luna, who has a B+ rating as a coach, while in Sanders' spot is a fake person named Kirk Patrick, whose rating is A+, per The Athletic. Those revelations came out alongside the designs for coaches that opted to be part of the second edition of the revival series of EA Sports' college football cult classic game. Some of those designs went viral, including an interesting haircut for Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy. Belichick's absence was not a surprise, as he never chose to be part of the Madden NFL video game franchise when coaching the New England Patriots. The three most notable college head coaches to opt into the game are Ohio State's Ryan Day, Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin, and Clemson's Dabo Swinney. The most prominent head coach joining Sanders and Belichick not to be in the game is either Stanford's Frank Reich or UAB's Trent Dilfer, due to their time in the NFL. Expectations for both coaches are high entering the 2025 season, especially for Belichick, as the Atlantic Coast Conference appears wide open.