The Nationals are shaking up the front office and have fired manager Dave Martinez and General Manager Mike Rizzo. The moves come a week before the 2025 MLB All-Star Game and mere days before the 2025 MLB Draft.
A Statement from Washington Nationals Managing Principal Owner Mark D. Lerner:
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 6, 2025
→ https://t.co/yHjVh4WWVJ pic.twitter.com/85cufOlzrK
Washington is coming off a sweep at the hands of the Boston Red Sox. The three-game skid, where the Nationals were outscored 27-9, moved the franchise to 37-53 on the season. Washington is in last place in the NL East despite having one of the more exciting young rosters in the league. Both MacKenzie Gore and James Wood were named to the National League All-Star team just hours before the move was made to fire Martinez.
Mike DeBartolo will take over as interim GM for Washington, per Jeff Passan. And on Monday, Washington announced that Miguel Cairo would take over as interim manager.
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Here is more on why the Nationals fired Martinez.
Why did the Nationals fire Dave Martinez?
Martinez took over as the manager for the Nationals in 2018. He replaced Dusty Baker and was one of a few candidates that the team brought in for an interview. It was his first managing gig in the MLB, but he had begun coaching in the Rays organization as early as 2008. He was with Tampa Bay until 2014 and then joined the Cubs as a bench coach in 2015, a position that he held for three seasons.
Martinez hit the ground running when he got to Washington. The Nationals finished second in the division in his first season and won the World Series in 2019 in his second year. Martinez then radically cooled off. Washington finished fourth in the division in the COVID-19 shortened season. The Nationals then finished last in the division in three straight seasons, before finishing fourth in 2024.
The franchise hasn't won more than 71 games in a season since 2019, and had a 37-53 record through 90 games to start the 2025 season. Additionally, despite winning the World Series in 2019, Washington never won the NL East under Martinez.
Washington has three prospects included in MLB.com's list of Top 100 prospects. These don't include Wood, Dylan Crews and CJ Abrams, who have all been highly touted top-tier prospects in recent seasons. Despite the high level of talent in the farm system, Martinez was unable to develop his players enough to put together a winning season.
Cairo is now set to take over for Martinez for the remainder of the 2025 season.
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Dave Martinez coaching record
Here is how Martinez and the Nationals did in each year of his tenure.
| Season | Record | Division Finish |
| 2018 | 82-80 | 2nd |
| 2019 | 93-69 | 2nd, Won World Series |
| 2020 | 26-34 | 4th |
| 2021 | 65-97 | 5th |
| 2022 | 55-107 | 5th |
| 2023 | 71-91 | 5th |
| 2024 | 71-91 | 4th |
| 2025 | 37-53 | 5th at time of firing |
2025 MLB Draft
The 2025 MLB Draft will begin on Sunday, July 13. Washington won the MLB Draft Lottery and will choose No. 1 overall, even though it had the fourth-best odds to win the honor. This will be the third time the Nationals have picked first overall, putting more pressure on the pick to be a success to help turn the franchise around. Washington's front office decided to fire Martinez for the short-term, while also firing Rizzo for the long-term outlook of the organization. It will be up to DeBartolo to help right the ship, starting with the draft.
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