Davey Johnson, long expected to be retained as Nationals manager, could officially be announced as manager for the 2012 season as soon as next week. General Manager Mike Rizzo continues to refuse comment on the matter, but he has intimated that he’s comfortable continuing with Johnson in place as the Nats skipper.
The league offices at Major League Baseball ask teams not to make manager hiring announcements during the World Series, as a courtesy to the teams still in action and to avoid potentially upstaging on-the-field news with off-the-field news (as Scott Boras and Alex Rodriguez did in the 2007 World Series). The Nats could, however, ask MLB for permission to make the announcement during an off day of the Fall Classic.
Via Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post:
Major League Baseball asks its teams to not make announcements once the day of Game 1 of the World Series arrives, and of course that day is tomorrow. The Nationals could ask Commissioner Bud Selig for permission to make an announcement on a World Series off day, either Friday or Tuesday.
So the Nationals will likely have to wait to make the decision official until after the World Series ends, which could take more than a week.
Kilgore also reported that he’s heard nothing from his sources to indicate that the hire will not be Johnson. It appears that Nationals fans will not have to wait much longer for it to become official.