Spring storylines: What happens with ownership now?

We’ve reached the final countdown to spring training, so we’re counting down the biggest storylines facing the Nationals this spring in West Palm Beach. We conclude today with the No. 1 issue that continues to hover over the entire franchise: the state of ownership …

When the Lerner family first let it be known publicly last April it was exploring a possible sale of the Nationals, the surprised reaction across the organization and throughout the baseball world was genuine. There had never been any prior indication the family had ever considered selling the team it purchased in 2006. It would continue to be handed down from one generation to the next, solidifying itself as a true Washington institution.

Ten months later, the greater surprise is the fact the Lerners still own the Nationals, with little reason to believe that’s going to change in the near future.

What figured to be a robust and timely process instead has dragged on nearly a full year. And as pitchers and catchers officially report to West Palm Beach, Fla., today for the start of spring training, the uncertain long-term state of ownership still looms large over everything.

The situation became even more uncertain Monday following the news of family patriarch Ted Lerner’s death at 97. Though the elder Lerner had ceded day-to-day control of the franchise to his son Mark nearly five years ago, he still was part of every major decision made by the ownership group. The sale process would not have happened without his full endorsement.

The process, as has been noted in recent months, has proven far more complex than perhaps some initially believed. The Lerners, never one to accept an offer that didn’t meet their terms, aren’t going to sell the team for less than they believe it’s worth. Potential new owners aren’t going to meet an asking price they don’t believe a franchise coming off a 107-loss season and looking at a significant drop-off in ticket sales and revenue in 2023 is worth.

Amid that specter comes the first day of spring training. The ownership situation matters little to most every player who will don a curly W cap the next six weeks. They’re far more concerned with maintaining good health, preparing for the regular season and making a case for inclusion on the Opening Day 26-man roster.

But make no mistake, the state of ownership matters greatly to those in charge of the baseball operation right now. General manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez each enter yet another contract year, each having had his 2023 option picked up by the Lerners last summer, neither having any formal job stability beyond this season.

Everyone who works underneath Rizzo and Martinez is in the same boat, left to try to engineer a franchise rebuild without knowing for certain if they’ll still be employed long enough to see it through.

Not that there’s much anybody can do about that for now. The focus will be on assembling a roster capable of making real strides this season, with an emphasis on identifying more long-term building blocks at both the major-league and minor-league levels. The best thing team employees can do to ensure they’re back in 2024 is to ensure the 2023 Nationals are better than the 2022 Nationals were.

The challenge, though, is significant. Operating on a severely diminished budget, Rizzo spent a grand total of $23.25 million this winter on five free agents, only one of them receiving a multi-year deal. The team’s Opening Day payroll may not top $100 million for the first time in 11 years.

If real improvement is going to happen this season, it will have to come from young players like starters Cade Cavalli, MacKenzie Gore and Josiah Gray, catcher Keibert Ruiz, shortstop CJ Abrams and second baseman Luis Garcia. The emergence of at least one prospect from the upper levels of the farm system (most likely outfielder Robert Hassell III) is a must, as well.

Whether all that is enough to avoid another 100-loss season remains to be seen. And whether such a record would be enough to retain Rizzo and Martinez for 2024 and beyond also remains to be seen.

None of this, of course, can really be answered until we have the answer to the most important question of them all: Are the Nationals going to be sold? If so, when? And if not, how will a Lerner family now mourning the loss of its patriarch proceed?