The Washington Nationals are treading waters. With Thursday’s 6-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, they sit 15-22 on the season and 6 1/2 games out of first-place in the National League East.
Many on the outside are pointing fingers at manager Davey Martinez. He inherited a team that won 95 and 97 games in back-to-back seasons, winning the NL East crown each year from a respected and well-liked Dusty Baker. Missing the postseason like year in his first year as manager was considered a failure. This season’s disappointing start is channeling calls for Martinez to be fired.
If the Nationals ownership resorts to removing Martinez, don’t expect any big name managers to replace him. Instead, Washington will look to a pair former bench coaches to replace him. According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, former Nats coaches Randy Knorr and Bo Porter would be the most likely candidates to replace Martinez.
“If they fire Martinez less than halfway into a three-year contract, they will only reinforce their reputation for instability. The team almost certainly would not hire an established veteran such as Joe Girardi or Buck Showalter — heaven forbid ownership pay two managers at once, even though Martinez’s salary was $850,000 last season, according to USA Today, and likely remains under $1 million. Triple-A manager Randy Knorr, a former Nats coach and special assistant to Rizzo, and former Astros manager Bo Porter, another former Nats coach who is now an analyst on the team’s pre- and post-game shows for the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, likely would be leading candidates to replace Martinez.”
They’ve already fired and replaced their pitching coach Derek Lilliquist after struggles from their imploding bullpen. Those troubles still exist. Before Thursday’s win, Washington had lost four straight, including getting swept by the Milwaukee Brewers. They’ve lost six straight series, losing 11 of their previous 16 games.
Injuries have also been at the forefront with a slew of Opening Day batters appearing on the injured list. Anthony Rendon recently returned from the IL with an elbow contusion, but Ryan Zimmerman, Trea Turner, Matt Adams, and Juan Soto remain on the IL. That’s the starting third baseman, first baseman, backup first baseman, shortstop, and best power hitting gone from the lineup.
Still, the onus is on Martinez. For a team with a $200 million payroll loaded with talent, and a proven history to be a good team, they have fallen short in the past two seasons under Martinez.
Knorr is the manager of the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate the Fresno Grizzlies and senior adviser to Nats general manager Mike Rizzo. He has been with the Nationals’ organization as a bullpen coach, bench coach, and minor league manager since 2009.
Porter was the Nationals third base coach from 2011-2012 under mostly Davey Johnson before being named the manager of the Houston Astros in 2013. He spent two years in Houston before being fired. He was a coach or manager in the majors for various clubs from 2007-2016. He now works as an analyst with MASN.
For Washington’s sake, they hope the pitching coach change and their bats getting healthy are the solutions to their problems. But with a more competitive NL East that features Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies, they may be force to address the underlining issue, manager.
