Latest / Foul Territory / Former Nats GM Mike Rizzo joins FT

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Former Nats GM Mike Rizzo joins FT · Foul Territory

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: H right, we're back.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Mike Rizzo, longtime scout. Were you GM? You were GM
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: of the Nationals, and were you president of Baseball off
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: some mic also.
• 0:16
  Speaker 3: I was for seventeen years.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Yes, so you're also president.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: You've moved on from that now because you do not
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: have a quarter zip on, so welcome to the real
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: world of no more quarter zips for.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: The first time and forever.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: What was it like not going to spring training, not
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: having to get up at five in the morning to
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: get there and get your coffee and sit around for
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: three hours.
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: It was kind of strange, you know, bittersweet.
• 0:38
  Speaker 4: I think the time off was good, you know, you
• 0:41
  Speaker 4: recharge your battery and that type of thing.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: Well, also, spring trains, by your one of my favorite
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: times of the year.
• 0:46
  Speaker 4: And yeah, I missed the uh you know, the meeting
• 0:49
  Speaker 4: to people at the stadium, the workers.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: And that type of thing.
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: And you know, beginning a new challenge, you know, a
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: new journey with your club is always always have fun time,
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: so you know, there's no pressure, there's nothing, you know,
• 1:03
  Speaker 4: there's no pressure. Wins and losses are kind of uh,
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: you know, we're not we're not losing sleep over them.
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: So Sprytay is always a favorite of mine, So it's
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: kind of bittersweet.
• 1:13
  Speaker 5: All right, Well, what was the one what's the one thing?
• 1:15
  Speaker 5: Everyone asks? Oh, when you're you're out of the game,
• 1:17
  Speaker 5: what's the one thing you miss? I want to do
• 1:19
  Speaker 5: it the other way you're out of the game. What's
• 1:22
  Speaker 5: the one thing you got to enjoy not being with
• 1:25
  Speaker 5: the team during that time of year?
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: Well, tell you know, there, you know, you figure out that. Man. Man,
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: there's like life.
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: Going on, and you know, in the spring and the summer,
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: it's it's like people go to the beach and they
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: go to restaurants and the afternoon and there's brunches and
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: all that stuff. It's like while people really have lives
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: and uh, because when you're in when you're in that
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: foxhol you're you'reself focused in on stuff. It's like you
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: have such a routine and you know, you know kind
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: of life goes on and passes your buy and you're
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: just you know, you're just there. You know, every day
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: is a new day, and you're you're so uber focused
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: on you know, the happenings of that day that you know,
• 2:06
  Speaker 4: you don't realize that you know, people are actually at
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: the beach and having some fun in the summer.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Mike, it's cool, isn't it. It's cool that when
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: you actually get your life back a little bit. I'm
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: sure it's amazing. When you get out, you're.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Like, whoa, people do cool things, and then you'll learn
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: and you learn.
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: You'll get to the point too, when you call somebody
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: and you say, hey, do you want to go do something?
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: They're like, I have to.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: Work today, And then you're like, oh, yeah, that's the
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: other thing that hits you at some point where, right, Yeah,
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: it's really cool. People get to do all these things,
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: but only on weekends because Monday through Friday they actually
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: have a job, and you just forget all that because
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: you're working.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: And then you have the off season.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: So anyways, how proud are you, as the former president
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: of Baseball offs of the Washington Nationals to see a
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: lot of the guys you drafted, traded for all that
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: that are now starring for this Nationals team. Whether it's
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: James Wood, whether it's tj Abram, whoever, caber Luiz, whoever
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: you want to throw in there, these are guys that
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: you drafted, you you traded for to get into this organization.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: Now they're doing well.
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: Yeah, you know what you know, the development's not linear,
• 3:07
  Speaker 4: as you guys know it. It takes certain guys take
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: take more more season than others. But to see those
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: guys coming in a year a year farther along in
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: their in their experience levels and that type of thing,
• 3:20
  Speaker 4: you know, uh, you know, we knew, we knew what
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: he was going to be that guy, you know when
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: he hit thirty something homers last year and and CJ.
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: You know he's put to two first halfs of seasons
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: together that that are remarkable. So you know the next
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: step in their progression is to you know, finish strong
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: into and to put a good you know, put a
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: good one hundred and eighty five day season together and
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: uh you know, and go through the seas and healthy
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: and happy and and and finished straw and but with
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: there ruizes and the noon y as it is, and
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: and the lyles and that type of thing. You know,
• 3:53
  Speaker 4: you look it up and out at a roster it
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: you know, we think that uh you know, we always
• 3:57
  Speaker 4: thought that the rebuild was was coming along. Uh fine,
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: you know, we needed to be patient, and I think
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: the patients for the new the new regime is paying
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: off now you see it with a bunch of the
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: players and the babies ended in the front system. I
• 4:12
  Speaker 4: think there's is really going to impact this uh disfranchise
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: positively through through the next you know, several years.
• 4:20
  Speaker 5: One of the things that we heard when Paul Tavoni
• 4:22
  Speaker 5: came in was there was a push towards a little
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: bit more tech some things that were behind. Did you
• 4:28
  Speaker 5: feel like, as the president of Baseball Operations that the
• 4:32
  Speaker 5: team was behind in certain tech areas or things that
• 4:37
  Speaker 5: maybe Paul Tavoni had to upgrade.
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: We were definitely behind technology, There's no question about it. It
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: was something that we had requests for years, uh and
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: and we just could we could just never get uh
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: the ownership on board to to get us a lot
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: of the technology and the people to that that have
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: to deal with the technology on board.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: So yeah, I think that, uh.
• 5:02
  Speaker 4: When the new regime comes in, you know, it's it's
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: often the time to strike when you want new things.
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: And I think.
• 5:07
  Speaker 4: That you know, that group came in and you know,
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: kind of demanded this is what they need for, you know, for.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: The franchise to succeed. And and I.
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: Think that they got a lot of the things that
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: we've been asking for for a couple of years. So
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: I think that they're they're you know, they're I think
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: what I've heard, they're slowly catching up and they're you know,
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: they're getting to the to the point where they they're
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: getting the technology woven into the developmental process of of
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: only not only the biggies, but the money League system
• 5:37
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• 5:39
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• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Mike, hold on, wait, you've been out, you were asking
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: for stuff and you didn't get it?
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Is that?
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: You know you got it correctly, you asked for you
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: know you questionings are every gear that that that some
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: some that you get and some that you don't. And
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: you know, we knew that we needed to certain these
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: technologies and we just couldn't.
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: We just never implement them.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: So yes, okay, okay, So that leads me to my
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: next question, ownership, right, ownership they're trying to sell? Are
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: they trying to sell the nationals? Are they not trying
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: to sell the Nationals? What's going on there? Now, that's
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: not your question. But for years, okay, when you were there,
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: you got you obviously won the World Series in twenty nineteen,
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: and you went out and you got sures Er, and
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: you had Strasburg, and you had Corbman, and you had
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: Jason Worth, and you brought in the players you needed
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: to bring in, and Zimmerman and Rendon and all these guys,
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: right Trey Turner, all these guys that you had, they
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: could help you guys win this World Series. Okay, Now
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: the Nationals don't do that anymore. Okay, And it kind
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: of stopped right after you won the World Series and
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: they said no more, We're not going to spend Is
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: that a bigger thing with the Mats ownership than we
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: know about because from what you just said, they wouldn't
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: spend money to help you stay relevant with the technology.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: So not only were they not spending the money on players,
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: it seems like they weren't spending on money on the
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: analytics and the technology to keep you even with everyone else.
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: Well, ownership is you know where every general manager has
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: has challenges with ownership and that type of thing. You know,
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: we had we uh, the ownership group that I had
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: was was a great ownership group pro for years, you know,
• 8:09
  Speaker 4: led by Ted Lerner who was the patriarch of the family.
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: And then take it over from Mark and and and
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: the rest of the Learner family. So you know, we uh,
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: we had a we had a great run together. You know,
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: I relished my nineteen and my nineteen years with them,
• 8:26
  Speaker 4: seventeen of them, as you know, the guy who ran
• 8:29
  Speaker 4: baseball operations. So you know, we we had a whole
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: lot of success together.
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: And we won.
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: We won, you know, thirteen hundred or so games in
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: those years, and uh four division titles, a wild guard
• 8:41
  Speaker 4: and nationally ben, a world championship, and had had a
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: parade and party for about a month. So we uh,
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: we had a fair share of success stories too. And
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: and you know, as as times changed and the rebuild started.
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: You know, obviously obviously the you know, uh the uh
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: major league payroll number went down, and that was always
• 9:03
  Speaker 4: that was something that that happens during the rebuild. So
• 9:06
  Speaker 4: but I see that the net chapter is going to
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: be when when the Woods and the Abrams and those
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: guys get to the high arbitration years and in you know,
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: closer to their free agency, what what does ownership do then?
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: And I think that's going to dictate, you know.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: What direction did the franchise is going?
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: How hard is that conversation? You guys win in a
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: World Championship and I get it. The next year was COVID.
• 9:31
  Speaker 5: But you guys are World Series champions. And how soon
• 9:36
  Speaker 5: did the you just use the word rebuild conversation start?
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: Was it? Well?
• 9:41
  Speaker 5: This process has taken us how many years to get
• 9:44
  Speaker 5: here to this World Series championship? As a president of
• 9:47
  Speaker 5: Baseball operations, I am assuming you say, okay, I want
• 9:50
  Speaker 5: to win another one, like I want to go out
• 9:52
  Speaker 5: and put the best team on the field. How soon
• 9:54
  Speaker 5: was that conversation too, it's time to rebuild?
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: Well, two thousand to twenty, you know that, Uh that
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: changed all our lives as far as uh, as far
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: as uh uh forecast and and prognostications of what this team.
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: Would be and where where the where it would lead.
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: Us and that type of thing. Uh and uh and
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: when when you look at the team that won it
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: in uh in nineteen you know, we were the oldest
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: team in baseball at the time, and we had we
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: had a veteran waiting team sprindled in with a handful
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: of five or six or eight really good young players
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: that uh that will really be you know, the stars
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: of our team. So we had a good mixture and uh,
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: and we thought that we're going to keep it together,
• 10:38
  Speaker 4: and you know, until until we saw that uh that
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: the uh, the veteran players were were you know, it
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: was time to move on from them and uh and
• 10:48
  Speaker 4: when uh, you know really what you know, we had,
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: we had that seven years of Max Scherzers contract and
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: then we kind of used that as as a as
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: a uh uh stalking horse of what we're going to
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: do and where where we're at. When we saw where
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: the team was going at that time, I think it
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: was twenty twenty one. You know, Max is in his
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: last year, you know, his last year of his contract,
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: and uh, we felt at that time where the team
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: was and the injuries that we had. I think it
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: was kind of that that, you know, ownership and I
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: got together and said that just a good time to
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: move on from from Max and uh and trade him
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: and see what we can get with, you know, with
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: just a couple of months left in his contract. And
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: that was kind of the beginning of the process. And
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: then you know, you've got to make longer term plans.
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: The next year, you know, we we offered Jue a
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: contract that we thought would you know, get us at
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: least a conversation to see if we could get in
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: long term, and you know it.
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: It didn't work out.
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: So we felt that we had to make a move
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: and and really begin the begin the rebuild process and earnest,
• 11:52
  Speaker 4: you know, and and kind of maximize our our our
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: time on once so that I acquired as many good
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: players as we can for him.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: Okay, Mike, before before we get into the whole thing,
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: you also use deferred contracts before it was popular and
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: before the Dodgers and everyone hated him, So good job.
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: Good job on flying under the radar and using them
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: before everyone hates the Dodgers for doing it, so it
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: got to your world series, So kudos to you for
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: for being so sneaky before everyone figured out this whole thing.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: So so good job.
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: We were We were called desperate for doing them, and
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: the Dodgers were called geniuses for doing them.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: So the Shures are still the Shures are still.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: Send you a Christmas card every every year and be like, hey,
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: thanks for my kids being able to eat this offseason
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: because he still makes like I forget what the number
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: is from the national.
• 12:40
  Speaker 4: Career Yeah, we uh we signed uh we signed up.
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: It was a seven year, two hundred ten million dollar
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: deal that leak to defern it over fourteen years, So
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: it was that was any arw diamond it by the way,
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: So it was, uh, you know when you when you
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: pitch like him or perform like him and compete like him,
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: you you know.
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: Should you should reap the rewards of that.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: Okay, So you had to get rid of You had
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: to watch Bryce Harper walk out the door obviously to Philly.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: You went one after he left, and then you had
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: to watch Juan Soto leave. Well, you had to trade
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: one Soto? Was there any I know he turned down
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: what four hundred and million, fifty million ish dollars. Did
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: you think you'd see seven fifty six for him? And
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: did you go to ownership and say, hey, if we
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: get to five hundred, maybe we can keep them. Did
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: it ever get to that point or was it just
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: once he said no to four fifty, you're like, we
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: got to move on and get other players for him.
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: I think there once once there was no conversation after
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: we off Mad made our initial offer that kind of
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: told us that it was you know, we weren't going
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: to be in a position to to sign to a
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: long term deal. I mean we had him for what
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: three and a half four more years, so it wasn't
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: like we were he was walking out the door. And
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: I think that that made all the difference in the
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: world and in the you know, the trade market for one,
• 14:05
  Speaker 4: because we we really didn't have to trade uh SOO
• 14:09
  Speaker 4: and that was that was in uh. I think, you know,
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: congratsive the ownership for it because I mean that, you know,
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: kudos to them because they didn't they didn't force me
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: to to trade them. And then you know, they said,
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: if you know, if we get the deal that you
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: feel is worthy of a SOO, then make the deal.
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: If not, we don't.
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: And I think that you know, led h to the
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: negotiations with the teams for Soto in a direction that
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: you know, we were you know, we had a we
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: had some leverage because we we really didn't have to
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: to move to move one at the deadline.
• 14:45
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• 15:46
  Speaker 1: That was a massive hall that you got back.
• 15:49
  Speaker 5: Were there other teams that you got calls from afterwards
• 15:53
  Speaker 5: saying whoa I mean, if that's what it would have taken,
• 15:56
  Speaker 5: or was that process for you something that happened quickly
• 16:01
  Speaker 5: and it was just you and the padres and you
• 16:03
  Speaker 5: know what, this is what we came together I like
• 16:05
  Speaker 5: the trade. How does that not just that well, yeah,
• 16:08
  Speaker 5: just that process go when you have a generational talent
• 16:11
  Speaker 5: like soda.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: Well, the you know, the process, the process.
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: You know, we we did our due diligence on all
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: the teams that that showed initial interest in in SOO
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: and uh, you know, at the beginning there's a lot
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: of teams involved in and then when it really when
• 16:27
  Speaker 4: it really whittles down to uh, when when we give
• 16:30
  Speaker 4: you know, our wish list for that particular organization, you know,
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: the the uh you know, the ten are offen changes
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: and the conversations either pick up.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: Or slowed down.
• 16:41
  Speaker 4: So at the end of the at the end of
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: the day, there was you know, there was a handful
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: of teams that were you know, that were really in
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: on it. We felt that we really had some good
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: discussions and momentum with them.
• 16:52
  Speaker 7: Uh.
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: You know, obviously we dispatched and and we.
• 16:55
  Speaker 4: Dispatched our scouts to to these different organizations because you know,
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: not just obviously selling the big league club, you're starting
• 17:03
  Speaker 4: the affiliates of it.
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: Because most of.
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: The most of your most of your impact value comes
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: from the younger players in these type of trades, and uh,
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: so uh, you know, we directed traffic with with our scouts.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: We got there, we got their opinions on it. We
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: watched videos uh. Uh.
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: You know, you watch minor league games, you're watching major
• 17:23
  Speaker 4: league games. You're watching videos of the players interesting uh,
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: and then you have discussions and uh and when uh,
• 17:30
  Speaker 4: when the discussions heated up that you know, it really
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: came down to a small handful of teams that that
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: were willing to to give up the the the talent
• 17:40
  Speaker 4: level that it took to get Lon Soto. And at
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: the end of the day, we felt that you know,
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: the Potters had had the most interest uh and uh
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: and and had a good fit for us prospect wise,
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: and uh they were aggressive enough, We were courageous enough
• 17:55
  Speaker 4: to make the trade, and they were curagious enough.
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: To give us the players that we before for us
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: to complete the trade.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: All right, Well, you've been through some some trade deadlines,
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: you've made some trades. Obviously, Wan Soto's at the top
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: of the list for for for the players you got back.
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: If what's can you walk us behind the scenes a
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: little bit as GM of how these deals come together,
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: especially with the deadline coming up, and then after that,
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: I want to. I want your opinion on if you're
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: Scott Harris and the Detroit Detroit Tigers, would you trade
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: a Trek Schoogle if you don't think you're in And
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: when do you make the decision.
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Of you're in it or you're out of it and
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: you have to sell?
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: Uh? I answered that one first.
• 18:38
  Speaker 4: I mean, I think you're doing you have dual peril
• 18:40
  Speaker 4: pats and and you're you know you're you're doing. You're
• 18:42
  Speaker 4: doing all the due diligence on you know, if you
• 18:45
  Speaker 4: are moving in to school. You know, here's the teams
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: that are involve. Your scouts are out and about right,
• 18:50
  Speaker 4: you know as we speak seeing you know, seeing the
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: players and uh and and the prospects and that type
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: of thing. UH. And you know, most importantly, have communication
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: with your ownership. And here's here's the we're mapping out
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: the rest of this season. Here's what we think as
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: as a baseball operations front office, what our chances are.
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: Here's what we see that you know upcoming upcoming schedule. Uh,
• 19:14
  Speaker 4: you know, where we're at in the standings and.
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: That type of thing.
• 19:18
  Speaker 4: And I think that you make your recommendation to ownership
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: on you know, you know I think, you know, we
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: you know, we should go for we have a chance,
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: or I think that you know, it's not you know,
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: realistic to expect you know, us to make the playoffs.
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: And we're going to go into different directions. And once
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: you get your direction uh mapped out, and that could
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: that could let you know, you may not have any
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: true direction, you know, until a day or two before
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: the trade deadline, because you know, you may be on
• 19:47
  Speaker 4: a six day win streak and really feeling good about
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: yourself because nothing makes you feel better than then, you know,
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: winning you know, winning games of getting on a little.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: Bit of a role.
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: Uh. You know, they've got they've got a savvy manager
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: who's been through it before, and a ju who you know,
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: who really knows uh you know, he'll have input on
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: where he thinks they are uh in uh in the
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: process at the at the trade deadline and uh and
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: ultimately uh the uh, the GM and the president they
• 20:16
  Speaker 4: had to make make recommendations to the front office and
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: and uh and be committed to it and and be
• 20:22
  Speaker 4: passionate about it and sell it to ownership and and
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: then go about and and and uh and make sure
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: that uh the blueprint and the plan that you have
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: mapped out comes to fruition at the deadline.
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: That makes sense. That makes sense.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: Make so basically, you either have fools gold and you think, hey,
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: we're really alive and we're seven games out, but we
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: can get hot, or you have a realistic gold and
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: you say, all right, we might need to recommit for
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: next year of the year down the road. So it's
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: a it's a it's a slippery slope, Mike, for gms
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: and for teams. So before we let you go, what's
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: next for you? Are you gonna get into broadcast and
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: give us some awesome quotes? Are you gonna do you
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: want to get back in and be a GM? Do
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: you want to go back get on the field, be
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: a coach? Do you want to be a scout? What
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: does Mike Riza want to do?
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: You know, I you know, I've I've got I've got
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: a great light.
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: I'm blessed, I was I was blessed to be here
• 21:12
  Speaker 4: with the Nationals for so long. And uh uh you know,
• 21:15
  Speaker 4: ownership took care of me, you know, financially, uh as
• 21:17
  Speaker 4: I feel good about that, Uh, but I do have
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: a hunger and and it's to get if if the
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: right fit comes along to with with an organization, uh
• 21:27
  Speaker 4: that that fits my personality and and I fit their
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: personality and and what they need and a you know,
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: a baseball executive and leader of the of baseball ops.
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: And I definitely have the energy and to jump back
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: in with both feet and get after it. And uh
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: if that doesn't happen, you know, then I'm content to
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: uh to uh you know, play some golf and uh
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: you know, watch some baseball and you know kind of
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: get on on uh be a front of the screen
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: and uh it makes some crazy uh crazy projection and
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: uh and comments and be like you get.
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: I love it. I love it.
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: By the way, aercrats state championship head coach, he lost
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: like I think six seniors this year, so he's looking
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: for a recruiting coordinator. So Mike, if you're free, he's
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: got you know, close to Philly, DC, and Philly aren't
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: that far away.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: You can slide on down.
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: There's no no question about a. Congrats Eric and h
• 22:22
  Speaker 4: you have you both of you guys have a long
• 22:24
  Speaker 4: your less career and uh and you do a great
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: job on the show too.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: I am joy Well, thank you, Thanks Mike.
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: We appreciate it all the best and whatever you do,
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: we know you'll be successful. Uh and we'll talk to
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: you soon, hopefully, because this is a great conversation.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Mike,