Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said there was "some validity" to criticism levied against Washington's "frustrating" rebuild and claimed that ownership is willing to spend money, as he defended his record against some "cherry-picked" statistics during his weekly interview with The Sports Junkies on 106.7 The Fan.
Rizzo, who admitted he had not read the entire column by Ken Rosenthal in The Athletic and instead had read a summation from the team's PR staff, said that the Nationals' low payroll (currently 22nd out of 30 teams) would not be something that continues over the long term.
"Ownership has shown that when they feel like we're ready to win, they spend, and I've never had a problem with that. Hopefully that continues," he told The Junkies. "I think the day's coming that we're going to be in a position to win. And to show support, that means buying some free agents, that type of thing."
Rizzo also noted that Rosenthal and others can criticize the Nationals' rebuild for taking a long time, but unlike with other franchises, Washington can say they have rebuilt the team from the bottom up, from the league owning the franchise to winning a World Series in 13 years.
"From start til championship," Rizzo said of the rebuild. "Unfortunately had to rebuild again and we're rebuilding now and since the [Juan] Soto trade, it's been two-three years of a rebuild which is painful, we all know that. If Ken or anybody else can't see where this organization is as far as talent base and that type of thing, then I don't what to tell anybody.
"The fans see it, the players see it, the opposition teams sees it, sees the talent."
He added: "Can't get too concerned about what people write about you."
Rosenthal noted that the Nationals have seen spending decrease significantly since 2021, but that an "even bigger problem is the team's failures in player development" that go "back more than a decade."
"Good teams both spend and develop. The Nationals do neither," Rosenthal wrote. "While the Nats hold the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft... the end of their rebuild is not necessarily in sight."
The GM responded to The Junkies saying the club has "developed players that have won Division titles and World Championships" and said some of Rosenthal's "statistics were kind of cherry-picked."
"We're proud of our scouting and our player development guys," Rizzo told The Junkies. "We draft guys that we think are gonna help us in the big leagues. And help us in the big leagues means play for us, who trade away to get other players that will help us win."
The GM pointed to adding Adam Eaton and several other contributors to the 2019 World Series team, who were acquired for players the Nationals drafted, developed, and traded. "And I think that is a terrific way to show value in the draft, and we've been doing that for years," he said.
He admitted that you could find some draft picks or signings over the years that didn't pan out and "find some faults there," but said they have "run some of the great players in our game through the system."
"I'm still optimistic the needle of this team and this organization is pointed north," Rizzo told The Junks. "And is gonna continue to do so until we start winning championships, which I think is in the very near future."
Rizzo also questioned the timing of the column, which was published Tuesday after the Nationals won six of their last eight games.
"I think we've played pretty well, we've swept the Orioles, we took a two-game series agaisnt the Braves," the GM told The Junkies. "Now we got this tough West Coast trip, which going out to Seattle, the West Coast is never easy. So we'll be grinding away. We've been grinding all year, I'm proud of the way the effort that they put in, from the players and the coaching staff.
"You see some young players, the baptism by fire when you're throwing [Robert] Hassell and Daylen Lile in against Robbie Ray, a Cy Young contender. That's no picnic. I think you're gonna see the development of these guys come."
He added later: "I thought the timing of the article was odd because we were playing good and we really are seeing the fruit of this frustrating rebuild coming to fruition."