Rizzo: Returning coaches "have earned the right to come back"

The Nationals’ decision in mid-August to re-sign their entire coaching staff caught most outside observers by surprise. Yes, the team had shown signs of progress, but not so much progress that the decision to bring everyone back was a no-brainer.

If nothing else, conventional wisdom suggested the front office would wait until season’s end to evaluate coaches’ performance and then make decisions about everyone’s fate heading into 2025.

The early decision, prompted by manager Davey Martinez’s desire to let all of his coaches have peace of mind and not have to sweat out the season’s final month-and-a-half, was approved by general manager Mike Rizzo and ultimately by club ownership.

The Nationals owned a 55-65 record on Aug. 14 when Martinez announced the decision. They’ve gone 15-25 since and are now 20 games under .500 in the season’s final weekend. They need to win their final two games to surpass last year’s win total of 71.

Rizzo, who met with beat reporters Friday for the first time since the coaching decision, was asked both about the timing of the move and the rationale for retaining the whole staff.

“I thought to be consistent, and keep the consistency in the coaches’ room, was important,” he said. “I watch, Davey watches, how these guys interact and work throughout the season. And believe me, these guys are as hard-working, as communicative, they teach as much as any group that we’ve had.

“To keep that cohesion going, and for the players to go into the offseason knowing who their coaches are going to be, so they can lean on (them) during the offseason, was important to me.”

The Nationals made several coaching changes after the 2023 season, letting go bench coach Tim Bogar, third base coach Gary DiSarcina, first base coach Eric Young Jr. and assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler. They were replaced, respectively, by Miguel Cairo, Ricky Gutierrez, Gerardo Parra and Chris Johnson. The club also hired former closer Sean Doolittle to the newly created position of pitching strategist, an addition that has been widely praised throughout the season.

The emergence of young starting pitchers MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker helped solidify the status of veteran pitching coach Jim Hickey. But the continued struggles of a lineup that ranked 12th in the National League in runs and 15th in homers in 2023 and currently ranks 14th in runs and 15th in homers in 2024 brought added scrutiny on hitting coach Darnell Coles, who is in his third season on the staff.

Club officials have pointed to the youth of the current lineup, which featured as many as seven rookies in recent months, as the biggest factor in team’s overall lack of production. September struggles or not, Coles – and everyone else on the staff – has already signed his contract to return in 2025.

“I believe every one of those guys have earned the right to come back next year,” Rizzo said.