Washington Nationals have a clubhouse culture problem

If you haven’t read Barry Svrluga’s series on the Washington Nationals’ season over at The Washington Post, I’d strongly recommend doing so. Svrluga documents essentially everything that went wrong in D.C. this year, especially as it pertains to manager Matt Williams.

One key theme that comes up in Svrluga’s series is Williams’ disconnect with players. He tells of Williams repeatedly failing to tell veterans of their upcoming off days, getting Matt Thornton warmed up in the bullpen five times in one game, refusing to offer Danny Espinosa an explanation after not living up to his promise to play him every so often, and several other anecdotes that seemingly put any chance of Williams finding another managerial job this offseason out of reach.

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Svrluga also writes about several Nationals players’ resentment at the trade that sent Tyler Clippard to Oakland in an attempt to clear salary, then the subsequent mid-season trade to bring in $11-million man Jonathan Papelbon. Clippard was reportedly a popular player in the clubhouse, and Washington players got frustrated with the front office shaking up the chemistry that the largely homegrown roster had developed prior to 2015.

If 2016 is going to be any better than this year has been for the underachieve Nationals, it’s going to have to start with a culture change. And that doesn’t just mean firing Williams and somehow disposing of Papelbon.

It starts with Randy Knorr, who’s been the Washington bench coach for four years and spent six years coaching with the organization’s minor league clubs prior to that. Svrluga’s series discusses how Knorr was often the go-to soundboard for players that took issue with Williams, and seeing that report comes as no surprise. Long-time players trust a long-time coach; it’s a good partnership, and one that Mike Rizzo should take full advantage of when he replaces Williams this winter.

Randy Knorr has to be the Nationals’ next manager. Not Cal Ripken Jr., not Bud Black, not Dusty Baker, not Don Mattingly, not Ron Washington, not anyone else.

It has to be Knorr.

No man will command more respect as the leader of the 2016 Nationals than their fourth-year bench coach. Not even Ripken. Knorr has been a part of every season in which Washington has been considered a contender, and knows the talents, shortcomings and personalities of every player on the roster better than anyone. But it ultimately comes down to the respect piece. Getting this team back on track starts with putting a man in charge that players are going to show up and fight for day in and day out. Give Knorr the promotion he has deserved since the day Davey Johnson announced his retirement.

Next step is to bring back the potentially departing pieces of the 2015 roster if possible, with the exception of possibly Doug Fister. Ian Desmond seems to have conceded that his time in Washington has come to an end as well, though that still leaves Jordan Zimmermann, Denard Span and Matt Thornton. All three won’t come cheap, but each of the three has contributed enough both in the clubhouse and on the diamond that they’ll be crucial to restoring the “Nationals way” that Svrluga writes about in his series. Even if Washington can only manage to bring back one or two of those players, it will still go a long way towards retaining and building on whatever team chemistry remains amongst the current roster.

The final step, it sounds like, should be bringing back former setup man and upcoming offseason free agent Clippard. If Drew Storen demands a trade, make Clippard the closer, and if Storen is willing to stay as closer, pay Clippard the money he deserved in 2015 to be the setup man in 2016. The Nationals bullpen was a well-oiled machine before this season, and bringing back Clippard in addition to a healthy Craig Stammen and Aaron Barrett would quickly restore a bullpen that has been in shambles all season.

Williams may be (deservingly) taking most of the blame for the mess in Washington, but Rizzo has certainly played a part in it too. And if he’s going to stick around with the Nationals, he has to clean up the mess he made. The plan’s been drawn out for him, so it’s time to get cracking and rebuilding the brand that he has quickly destroyed.

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