Early this morning, the much maligned General Manager of the Washington Nationals resigned under “false and malicious media reports” about improprieties in the Dominican Republic, as well as potential bonus skimming as far back as his days spent with the Cincinnati Reds. While some (such as Fire Jim Bowden blog) have been calling for the removal of Bowden since early last year, when his signings of Paul Lo Duca and other FA flops, and the re-signings instead of moving of overachieving veteran players.
While the departure of Bowden may restore some general goodwill and respect among baseball front offices, a successor has not been chosen at a time when moves need to be made. Mike Rizzo, the consensus choice to replace Bowden, has an extensive and successful scouting background but little to no experience in front office dealings and media relations (however, since the media in Washington is resigned to seeing Washington suck, the pressures of the GM here are minimal compared to a rabid, or even lukewarm, baseball market).
Whatever GM takes over in the coming weeks, certain logjams need to be relieved. With a surplus of outfielders and a shallow bullpen, the new GM needs to decide who stays, who’s worth something, and who to get in return.
My amateur advice? Kearns salary is too high to move, as well as his role of Adam Dunn buddy (which has to be worth something). Dukes has too much potential upside, and the market for him is soft because of non-baseball variables. The only movable piece in the outfield is Milledge, but again, I think DC is better off holding on to him for the near term. The player that has to be moved, obviously, is Nick Johnson. He needs to continue to have a strong ST, so he can be moved for bullpen help and/or prospects. Ronnie Belliard should not start, as the defense on the right side will suffer too much with his lack of range, and Dunn’s limited mobility.
We’ll soon see what course of action is taken by the Nats FO, but Bowden’s removal will remove distractions, and allow the team to move forward with its business and get ready for the season.
SKEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET