Nationals sign Mike Rizzo to contract extension

The Nationals have signed general manager Mike Rizzo to a two-year contract extension, according to Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post.

Rizzo’s deal will run through the 2020 season. Janes says Rizzo will earn $4 million annually, giving him a raise of $1.5 million after currently earning $2.5 million.

Since being promoted as the GM in 2009, the 57-year-old Rizzo has helped the Nationals go from being an annual bottom-dweller to one of the top teams of this decade. The Nationals have won four of the past six NL East titles, won at least 95 games four times and developed homegrown stars such as Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon. He has also pulled off trades for Gio Gonzalez, Trea Turner and Adam Eaton, and signed prominent free agents such as Max Scherzer and Daniel Murphy. Unfortunately, the Nationals have not been able to vo far in the postseason under Rizzo, as they have been eliminated in the NLDS in their four trips (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017).

The Nationals are once again pegged as the favorites to win the NL East after starting 4-2 this season, but this could be their last chance at a World Series title with their current core. Harper, Murphy and Gonzalez are all eligible to be free agents at the end of the season, with Harper being the biggest name in a class that could include names such as Manny Machado, Clayton Kershaw (opt-out), Josh Donaldson, David Price (opt-out) and Andrew Miller.