Nationals GM and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo is back with The Sports Junkies every Wednesday this season, brought to you by our friends at MainStreet Bank – and the first thing the Junks wanted to know in his 2023 debut wasn’t about the team, but about whether or not Rizzo is actively changing diapers for newborn son Sonny.
“Oh, I’ve changed 10,000 of them,” Rizzo said, which apparently made Cakes the winner of a wager between him and JP. “It’s a blessing and I’m taking full advantage of it.”
Baby talk out of the way, Rizzo and the Junks got down to business – and Rizzo is actually in DC, not out in California with the Nats, as he was down scouting some college players at the Tennessee-Florida series this past weekend.
What that means is he could only watch from afar as Shohei Ohtani held the Nats to one hit over seven innings in a 2-0 Angels win Tuesday night, which made him a star even on a night he went just 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in the batter’s box.
“He’s tough on any lineup to face, and in these early games, we’re run into some stud Cy Young-type pitchers,” Rizzo said. “He’s a tough guy to put anything together against, and it was a tough night last night to be an offensive player.”
Rizzo has been watching Ohtani since before he came over from Japan, and the Nationals did make a bid for his services, even knowing his preference was the West Coast.
“He’s such a difference maker as a pitcher and a hitter; I remember putting together a prospectus to try to woo him here and figure out how we’d use him in both roles,” Rizzo said, not noting anything more given that the DH wasn’t universal just yet when Ohtani came over.
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On the other side, poor Josiah Gray allowed just two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings, but was a hard-luck loser as the Nats were shut out in his second straight start. He’s now lost two straight games via 1-0 and 2-0 scores, but Rizzo is liking what he sees from the burgeoning ace.
“He’s been great. He’s keeping the ball in the ballpark since the first start, throwing strikes, and working on his repertoire,” Rizzo said. “I think you’re seeing a young pitcher on the cusp of becoming a good MLB rotation starter. He’s a guy we feel good about whenever he takes the ball, he will give you 100 percent and pound the strike zone and just compete.”
It’s MacKenzie Gore’s turn Wednesday, and while his results have been the opposite of Gray – he’s 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA – Rizzo sees a lot of the same in terms of compete and poise on the mound.
“He’s been great…he’s competing, he’s got a really good poise on the mound and is in total command, and he attacks the hitters,” Rizzo said. “He has really good stuff and he’s not afraid to use it, and his thing is that if he’s in the strike zone, he’s going to be tough to beat. These guys are being aggressive, and letting their defense work.”
As for the Nats’ offense, Victor Robles is leading the way with a .389 average and .921 OPS through 12 games, and we’re finally once again seeing what the Nationals saw when then-rookie Robles was a starter and key cog on the 2019 World Champions.
“We’ve said it for years that his skill set is terrific, and you flash back to 2019…but this year, early on in spring, him and (hitting coach) Darnell Coles worked diligently to lighten up his approach a little bit and make him more of a handsy hitter,” Rizzo said. “They’ve tweaked some of his approach at the plate and some mechanics, but I think the biggest change is his attitude and mental preparedness at the plate. He’s really taken it to heart that he doesn’t want to strike out, and he has a much better two strike approach this year – so take his adaptation to the league, utilizing his hands more, and filtering in that attitude, and the early results have been positive.
Hitting talk then led the Junkies to ask Rizzo about former Nat Anthony Rendon, who was a star here in DC but has played just 105 of 324 possible games the last two seasons and looks like a poor contract for the Halos. Rendon and Rizzo still chat occasionally, but as you might expect, the GM wishes his former player the best as long as they’re not playing the Angels.
“Very occasional texts, maybe a Holiday text, that’s about it. When we see each other, it’s very warm and he’s a terrific guy who I’ve known since high school,” Rizzo said. “He’s a terrific young man, but availability is part of this thing, and unfortunately he hasn’t been very available for them. When he’s on the field, he’s a terrific two-way player, and I hope the best for him and his family and hope he has a good, healthy, successful season, because he can be a terrific player.”
Rendon departed after the 2019 World Series, and the Nationals have been in now a three-year rebuild since – but Rizzo has a message for those fans who are still showing up to the ballpark, as small as that number has been of late.
“I definitely notice it – the fan base here in DC has been terrific and supported us since Day 1, from the old days when we were rebuilding to go on that championship run,” Rizzo said. “I look at it this way: you get the fan base you deserve, and fans want to be around a team that wins.
The true fan grinds through these rebuilding days because they see what’s on the horizon and trust the process that it will happen again. I trust the fans and I know they believe in our blueprint, and we have to make sure we don’t betray that trust. The short, medium, and long-term plans are in place.”
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