On the field, the Washington Nationals scored a 3-2 walk-off win over the New York Mets on Wednesday, but the biggest story of the day was the organization making a number of changes informing "more than a dozen employees" in the scouting department that they would not be returning to the organization, according to reports in The Athletic and the Washington Post.
The changes to the organization come with the franchise for sale by the Lerner family, after Nationals manager Dave Martinez agreed to a two-year contract extension, after the resignation of Johnny DiPuglia, the head of international scouting, last week and amid general manager Mike Rizzo's continued negotiations for a contract extension of his own.
Rizzo told The Sports Junkies on Wednesday morning, prior to the reports of the staff changes, that he "definitely" wanted to remain in Washington.
"I just want to grind this thing out and get it through this rebuild and put a championship-caliber club on the field again," Rizzo told 106.7 The Fan before adding, "This has been my home for 17 years, and we brought this thing from below expansion franchise... I’ve been here since ’06 and plan on being here for a long time beyond that."
According to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic, citing sources briefed on the matter, Rizzo is believed to be seeking an extension of a similar length to Martinez's which "is one of several hang-ups in the negotiations."
Among the scouts let go, six were special assistants to Rizzo: John Mirabelli; Mike Pagliuaro; Jon Weil; Willie Fraser; Matt Ruebel; and Jeff Harris, The Athletic reported.
The other scouts let go were part of the club's international department: Mike Cadahia (director of international operations); Alex Rodriguez (Latin American crosschecker); Jose Pepe Ortega (scout in the Dominican Republic); and David Leer (scout in Aruba), the Post reported.
When asked earlier Wednesday by The Junkies if he expects an announcement before the end of the regular season about a contract extension, Rizzo said on 106.7 The Fan, "You’re talking about things I don't discuss. We never discuss what we’re doing as far as negotiations and contracts and that type of thing so we're not going to start now.
"I’ve been a GM here for 15 years and I’m happy here. I see big things happening for this team, and I’m certainly glad that Davey’s around for it, and I certainly want to be part of the next championship club."