Sunday loss exposes Martinez's managerial dilemma

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The job of a major league manager can be both simple and incredibly complicated at the same time. Simple: Do everything you can to put your players in the best position to win that day’s game. Complicated: Figure out when it’s appropriate to do that, and when it’s more appropriate to prioritize long-term considerations over short-term success.

It can get even more complicated for the manager of a team clearly in rebuilding mode that is more focused on the future than the here and now, then even more complicated than that when the manager is trying to prove he should retain his job after his contract expires at season’s end.

All of those circumstances converged for Davey Martinez in the latter innings of Sunday’s game at Kauffman Stadium. His Nationals, a rebuilding team that nonetheless has exceeded expectations to date, were in a position to complete their first three-game sweep on the road since August 2019, when a veteran-laden squad took three straight from the Cubs at Wrigley Field and made it clear they were serious World Series contenders.

Leading the Royals 2-1 thanks to seven dominant innings from MacKenzie Gore and a couple of clutch hits from Ildemaro Vargas and Michael Chavis way back in the top of the fourth, the Nats now had to try to close this game out. Or more specifically, Martinez had to figure out how to try to close this game out while also resting a number of his top relievers and regular position players who were being given the day off.

In the bullpen, Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey and Carl Edwards Jr. were all deemed off limits. Each pitched in Saturday’s win, with Edwards having also pitched in Friday’s win. Each would’ve been pitching for the fourth time in five days had he been used, and that’s generally not something a manager wants to do to a reliever in late-May.

Martinez had Andres Machado warming in the seventh in case Gore couldn’t complete that inning, but Machado sat down after that and never appeared. Mason Thompson (who pitched two innings Saturday), Erasmo Ramirez (who didn’t retire a batter Friday) and Thaddeus Ward (who did not appear at all in the series) never warmed up, either.

Rather than risk overusing his top guys or calling upon a Rule 5 pick with minimal high-leverage experience, Martinez decided to go with Chad Kuhl. Kuhl also found himself in a similar spot Friday night and emerged with his first save. This time, he did not, surrendering the game-tying homer to Edward Olivares in the eighth and then the game-winning hit to Michael Massey in the ninth (with MJ Melendez scoring from second after reaching on a two-base error by Dominic Smith).

It made for a frustrating end to a game that was right there for the taking, but Martinez was adamant he wasn’t going to use Finnegan, Harvey or Edwards and risk any long-term health problems for any of those guys.

Martinez’s dilemma also extended to the top of those final innings, though. Having given the day off to four regulars – Keibert Ruiz, CJ Abrams, Jeimer Candelario, Corey Dickerson – he had multiple opportunities to use any or all of those players off the bench in big spots late.

Instead, Martinez let Chavis, Riley Adams and Alex Call bat for themselves in the top of the eighth against flamethrowing lefty Aroldis Chapman, with Chavis drawing a walk to load the bases but Adams striking out and Call popping out to kill the rally and leave the Nationals a dismal 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position in the game.

One inning later, in what was now a tie game, Joey Meneses drew a two-out walk off right-hander Scott Barlow, bringing Stone Garrett to the plate. Martinez could’ve had Abrams pinch-run for Meneses, and he could’ve had Dickerson pinch-hit for Garrett (using the same lefty-righty platoon he does when deciding which player will start in left field on a given day).

Martinez decided not to make any moves, preferring to stick with the plan to rest those regulars. Garrett wound up flying out to left to end the inning.

“I kind of want to keep it as a day off,” Martinez answered when asked if he considered using any of his regulars off the bench in those late innings. “But I liked the matchup with (Chavis), and Riley has been swinging the bat really well, right? Those guys got an opportunity to play, and we just couldn’t capitalize today. Chapman is tough. He’s been doing it for a lot of years, and he’s no piece of cake. But I thought these guys would put the ball in play right there.”

For a team like the 2012-20 Nationals, who fully expected to contend, it would’ve been an easier call to push some regulars to come off the bench on their day off, or maybe to use one of the high-leverage relievers despite the heavy workload and risks associated with that.

For a team like the 2023 Nationals, it becomes more of a gray area. They want to win every game, sure. They also know they probably shouldn’t try to do that if it poses any real risk in the bigger picture.

Was Martinez right to back off this time and potentially sacrifice a game that could’ve been won? Was he wrong to not seize the moment when the situation arose?

This is where the Nats manager finds himself right now. He has a dual mission this season: Win as many games as reasonably possible, but always keep the long-term rebuild in mind.

It’s an unenviable position, but it’s reality for the manager of an overachieving, rebuilding club.