Sep 12, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Washington Nationals manager
Matt Williamsbefore a game against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
NATIONALS FIRE ENTIRE COACHING STAFF
That didn’t take long.
This morning, word began leaking out that the Washington Nationals have fired manager Matt Williams. 30 minutes later, the second leak: the rest of their major league staff has been ousted as well.
The Nats dismissed Manager Matt Williams this morning, per a person familiar with the situation. Ends two years as manager of Nats.
— James Wagner (@ByJamesWagner) October 5, 2015
According to MLB Trade Rumors, this includes…
- Bench Coach Randy Knorr
- Pitching Coach Steve McCatty
- Hitting Coach Rick Schu
- 3rd Base Coach Bobby Henley
- 1st Base Coach Tony Tarasco
- Bullpen Coach Matt LeCroy
- Defensive Coordinator Mark Weidemaier
Chelsea Janes also reports that General Manager Mike Rizzo – the man still with a job after assembling this staff that he just fired – will be addressing the media at 1 pm EDT this afternoon.
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The Nationals were picked by nearly everyone to win the NL East this season, yet finished in second place – 7 games behind the New York Mets – at a pedestrian record of 83-79, which ranked 7th in the National League. They will draft 18th in 2016.
While the Nationals could end up with the league MVP on its roster in Bryce Harper, plus a Top 5 Cy Young contender in Max Scherzer, the rest of the team underperformed to a large degree. Injuries to key players also plagued them . They ranked 18th in team offense, though 7th in team pitching ERA.
After getting a no-hitter from Scherzer on Saturday, his own team was almost dealt the same fate to end the year, losing to the Mets via a combined 1-hitter on Sunday.
Much was made of the moves made by Rizzo at the trade deadline… both those made and those not made. The only acquisition of significance was for something that didn’t really need to be fixed – the bullpen. Instead, they disrupted the bullpen – and the team – by acquiring Jonathan Papelbon from the Phillies. Instead of helping, Papelbon ultimately was a negative force: suspended for assaulting their best hitter while the prior closer – Drew Storen – broke a thumb in an angry exchange with a locker.
All the while, Matt Williams appeared to all concerned to simply not have a handle on the situations that were harming his club from the inside out.
Much of the Nationals’ talent will remain with the team, though pitch Jordan Zimmermann will be the most significant free agency departure. Doug Fister, Ian Desmond, and Denard Span will be free agents as well. They will still have some significant talent, though (Harper, new-comer Trea Turner, Scherzer, and the rest of the pitching staff), so in the right hands, the Braves may still have their hands full with this club for at least another year.
In 2015, the Nationals were 96-66, finishing first in the East, but fell to the World Series-winning Giants in the NLDS.
This was Matt Williams’ first managerial assignment.