Call to the pen
Fansided

Ranking baseball’s decision-makers for 2018: Part 2

By Bill Felber

OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 7: General Manager David Forst of the Oakland Athletics and General Manager Farhan Zaidi of the Los Angeles Dodgers talk in the clubhouse prior to the game at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on August 7, 2018 in Oakland, California. The Dodgers defeated the Athletics 4-2. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - AUGUST 7: General Manager David Forst of the Oakland Athletics and General Manager Farhan Zaidi of the Los Angeles Dodgers talk in the clubhouse prior to the game at the Oakland Alameda Coliseum on August 7, 2018 in Oakland, California. The Dodgers defeated the Athletics 4-2. (Photo by Michael Zagaris/Oakland Athletics/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 30: Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo holds a press conference prior to the final regular season game of the 2018 season at Coors Field. (Photo by Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post via Getty Images) /

14. Mike Rizzo, Washington Nationals, -0.6 games

Rizzo’s performance was mixed, which obviously isn’t good enough for the boss of a putative contender. It wasn’t that he had an especially bad season; it simply wasn’t good enough.

Much of Rizzo’s effort was focused on the free agent market. Coming off a playoff season, he signed or re-signed 11 players who produced major league value for Washington. Several worked out.

Jeremy Hellickson signed a minimum dollar deal in March and returned a 5-3 record and 3.45 ERA in 19 starts before going down with an injury. When Greg Holland crashed and burned in St. Louis, Rizzo picked him up on the cheap and got 21 quality innings covering the season’s final two months.

There were no breakthroughs among those 11 signings, but no disasters either, and the net contribution was positive, albeit by just +0.5 WAA.

Factor in the improvement created by Rizzo’s decisions to release or part ways with five other players and the total impact of his free agent activity rises to +2.1.

Rizzo’s real problem lay in his use of the Nats’ farm system. Give him credit for Juan Soto, who had an excellent rookie season that makes him a post-season award contender. The problem is that Rizzo used 17 first-year players, a dozen of whom contributed negative value to the Nats. As good as Soto was, catcher Pedro Severino by himself essentially offset all of Soto’s good deeds. Severino batted .168 with two homers in 213 plate appearances.

All of that made Rizzo the most neutral general manager in baseball in 2018. He didn’t hurt the Nationals, but he also failed to help them chase the NL East title.

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