With less than three weeks to go in the regular season, the Washington Nationals are all but assured their third National League East title since 2012. One has to wonder how this year would’ve gone if the offseason went as planned for general manager Mike Rizzo and his front office, though.
Rizzo made an appearance on ESPN’s Baseball Tonight podcast with Buster Olney earlier this week to talk about his club in advance of October. No conversation in 2016 about the Nats is complete without singing the praises of two influential people: manager Dusty Baker and second baseman Daniel Murphy.
They have truly been difference makers for this club, who owns a 87-59 record as they travel to face the Atlanta Braves this weekend. Rizzo didn’t hide how he felt about their contributions this year, referring to Baker as the NL Manager of the Year and Murphy as the NL MVP.
Even if they don’t take home hardware come November, it’s hard to fault Rizzo for feeling this way. It’s just ironic because neither of them were Washington’s first choice when it came to filling their jobs last winter.
Dusty Baker
Now in the final month of the regular season, it’s clear to see Baker was exactly what Washington’s clubhouse needed following the Matt Williams debacle. While the veteran skipper was one of the two finalists in the Nats’ managerial search, he wasn’t their first choice.
Bud Black was – or so that’s what certain reports declared. However, once Black balked at the “lowball” offer he received from Washington, they changed course and went with Dusty.
Rizzo refuted those reports, saying “We definitely had financial parameters discussed with (both), at the same time,” which was reported by Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press.
Dusty Baker on the #Nats' comeback that fell just short: https://t.co/pBfSDKTetw #IBackTheNats pic.twitter.com/DM4MsrXT7r
— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) September 14, 2016
Both Black and Baker came with similar reputations as being veteran skippers who were well liked and could connect with players. After watching the clubhouse fall apart under Williams’ watch, it wasn’t surprising to see them gravitate toward that kind of leader.
It did appear Black had an upper hand because of his track record with regard to handling pitchers, but there was one thing missing from his resume that Baker had: postseason experience.
Sure, Baker hasn’t won a World Series, but he went to one with the San Francisco Giants back in 2002. In fact, he went to the playoffs with each of the three teams he managed (San Francisco, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds).
The closest Black ever got to the postseason was in 2010 when the San Diego Padres endured a late-season collapse. Of the nine years he was at the helm, the Pads only produced two winning seasons, although he did finish in the top five of NL Manager of the Year voting three times.
Hindsight is 20/20, so it’s easy to say Baker was the right choice now. Even if he did finish second to Black before the financial negotiations, he was a tremendous fallback option. Washington’s roster has been built with the goal of winning in the immediate term. If Black managed them to the postseason, would he be able to handle it? The smart money says yes, but you never know.
With Baker, the front office won’t have to think about that. He hasn’t been there in a few years, but at least knows what it’s like and how to handle it. Time is of the essence for the Nats with Bryce Harper’s free agency looming and Baker truly was the best man for the job.
Even if he wasn’t the first choice.
Daniel Murphy
What a colossal free-agent bargain this has been, right? While Murphy signed for three years and $37.5 million over the winter, he’s produced like a $20 million per year player. But like his manager, the former New York Mets second baseman wasn’t Washington’s first choice for its void on the infield.
He wasn’t the second choice, either.
At the beginning of the offseason, reigning World Series champion Ben Zobrist was the apple of many team’s eyes. The Nats were one of them and reportedly offered four guaranteed years, according to Mark Zuckerman of CSN Mid-Atlantic.
While Zuckerman noted Washington wasn’t the hottest team on Zobrist’s tail, they were definitely pursuing. Once he decided to sign with the Chicago Cubs, interest shifted toward striking a deal with the Reds to acquire veteran Brandon Phillips.
Mike Axisa of CBS Sports was one of many outlets to note that while the Nats and Reds agreed on a deal, Phillips had to waive his no-trade clause to proceed. To give his blessing, he wanted an extension on top of the two years and $27 million he had left on his contract at the time, effectively ending those talks.
That left the Nats with Murphy, who just put on a crazy power display in the playoffs, but it wouldn’t be fair to expect that as his new normal. As Rizzo stated to Olney, Murphy was attractive to them because of his ability to make consistent contact.
Despite being the third option for Washington, they’re more than happy with their final decision after comparing some of their basic stats with one another:
He also carried the offense while Harper suffered through a pretty long slump.
The Nationals have basically been in control of the National League East since the beginning of April. There have been many reasons why, but two of the biggest ones involve Baker and Murphy. Not many front office executives can say they’re OK about not seeing initial offseason targets get acquired, but Rizzo is the exception to that rule.
All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference. All advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs.
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