Washington Nationals sign GM Mike Rizzo to a three-year extension

Rizzo, who won the World Series last fall, will have his work cut out for him this winter

The Washington Nationals have extended general manager Mike Rizzo's contract for three years, the team announced on Saturday afternoon. Rizzo's contract had been set to expire after the season ended.

Rizzo, who will turn 60 years old in December, is one of the longest tenured general managers in Major League Baseball. He took over the post in D.C. on an interim basis in March 2009, following Jim Bowden's resignation. The Nationals suffered a few lean seasons thereafter, but have been steady contenders for most of the past decade. In fact, they have not experienced a losing season since 2011, though that seems likely to change this year. Washington entered Saturday with a 13-24 record, a forgivable misstep following last fall's championship.

Rizzo will nonetheless have his work cut out for him this winter. As we detailed on Friday evening, the Nationals' failures in 2020 have been of the team-effort variety. Rizzo will have to retool in order to maximize the time his outstanding core has remaining together. 

Under Rizzo, the Nationals have signed, drafted and developed a number of stars, ranging from those who remain in town, like Stephen Strasburg and Juan Soto, to those who have departed, such as Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon. The Nationals have also been big-time players in free agency, landing the likes of Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Jayson Werth.

Prior to joining the Nationals, Rizzo scouted for the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox. He also was the Arizona Diamondbacks' director of scouting for a number of years. Rizzo's baseball career originally started as a player: he was drafted in 1982 by the Los Angeles Angels. He topped out in A-ball and retired having hit .247/.312/.329 with five home runs.