More on the Nationals' newsy Saturday

It turned into quite a newsy Saturday down in Atlanta. And that was before the Nationals went out and beat the Braves for the second night in a row, winning 10-4 despite the lack of Juan Soto in the lineup and a 3 2/3-inning start from Erick Fedde.

Let's run back through some of the most important developments of the day ...

* Mike Rizzo's contract extension
There was nothing surprising about the announcement of Rizzo's new three-year deal that keeps him as the Nationals' president of baseball operations and general manager through the 2023 season. If you've been following this saga over the last decade, you knew the Lerner family was going to take its time before doing this, but you also know it was going to get done eventually.

Rizzo is scheduled to meet with reporters via Zoom at 11:30 a.m. today, so we'll hear what he has to say about his new contract and its ramifications. I do think it's interesting to consider he'll be 62 when it runs out, having completed 15 seasons as GM of the Nats. That's a lifetime in this industry, and very few franchises can claim that kind of stability at the top of its baseball operations department.

Maybe someday down the road, Rizzo will be interested in doing something else, whether working for another club or ascending to a loftier role with the Nationals and handing over day-to-day duties to someone else. But for now, he loves what he does. He loves where he does it. And he's not interested in doing it anywhere else.

Yeah, there were a few moments this year when you had to pause and wonder if there was any way this longstanding and successful relationship would fall apart. But deep down, didn't we all know it would play out like this in the end?

* Davey Martinez's contract status
Rizzo certainly will be asked about the plan for his World Series-winning manager today, but let's be clear about this, too: It's only a matter of time before the Nationals officially announce Martinez is returning as manager next year - and potentially beyond.

"Mike is done," Martinez said. "So mine should be coming around the corner here soon."

The club holds a $1.2 million option on Martinez for 2021, and the simplest thing to do would be to pick up that option. There's nothing stopping them from doing that now. The bolder move would be to negotiate a new deal that extends him beyond next season, so they don't find themselves in this exact same position again for a while.

It's been said over and over, but the Nats have spent the last 16 years shuffling through managers, changing courses every two years, never holding onto anyone for three full seasons. It's time for that to end.

Martinez won a championship. He's both well respected and beloved inside the clubhouse. He represents the organization exceptionally well. And, like Rizzo, he doesn't hide the fact he wants to stay here for a long time.

The Nationals have committed to their GM for the long haul. It feels like it's time they finally did the same to their manager.

* Kieboom is the third baseman again
From a purely baseball standpoint, Saturday's biggest news was the return of Carter Kieboom after a brief stint at the alternate training site in Fredericksburg and Martinez's declaration that the 23-year-old will be the club's starting third baseman for the rest of this short season.

Yes, Martinez made a similar declaration about Kieboom during summer training and then didn't follow through with it, giving Asdrúbal Cabrera more playing time as Kieboom struggled at the plate. So it's entirely possible circumstances will change and the Nats won't follow through again.

But given the state of the team 38 games into a 60-game season, there's really no reason not to keep putting the club's top position player prospect out there every night and let him sink or swim. The Nationals can't afford to go into 2021 not knowing if Kieboom is part of the plan or not.

How can Kieboom make sure he is part of the plan next year? He can put together more consistently good at-bats, he can contribute in multiple ways (in the field, on the bases) and he can make sure he keeps a positive attitude even if things don't go well.

Reading between the lines, it certainly sounds like one reason for his demotion late last month was the sense he was not handling his struggles well. In addition to his on-field performance, the coaching staff and front office is going to be watching Kieboom over these next three weeks, curious to see how he handles this latest opportunity to earn a permanent spot in the big league lineup.