Looking at Mike Rizzo’s To Do List

In all likelihood, many of the Front Offices around Major League Baseball are fixated on the playoffs and have not yet transitioned completely into “offseason mode”. Teams have started evaluating themselves, don’t get me wrong, but few major decisions (managerial changes/announcements notwithstanding) have been made thus far. That part of the evaluation and decision making process will begin in a few short weeks once the World Series comes to a conclusion. But, it’s never too early to start to speculate on what items might be on the old To Do List. So, let’s see what might be on Mike Rizzo’s To Do List this winter:

* Quick note: As the offseason progresses this list will be a fluid thing. Items will be crossed off while others will be added. We’ll revisit this from time to time here at DoD.

1.) Decide (or at least make an official announcement) on who will manage the team in 2012.

2.) Assess the starting rotation. Is acquiring another option important enough to trade some of the younger prospects? Is free agency the better route? Or, will the in-house options suffice?

3.) Same as #2, just in reference to center field.

4.) Who’s on first? Namely, will Adam LaRoche be healthy enough to offer some sort of production in the lineup?

5.) Filling out the bullpen and bench. Perhaps adding some Triple-A depth as well.

6.) Extending Ryan Zimmerman.

7.) What to do with Jesus Flores?

In the coming days and weeks we’ll be addressing each of the items on this list (plus countless other possible topics) in more detail, as will Rizzo and those that make up the Nationals Front Office. We’ll also be taking a look at some of the available options, both before and after rumors of the team’s interest begin to circulate. In other words, it’s time to look ahead for the Nationals, so rather than spend much time reviewing the 2011 season we’ll be focused more on preparing (and improving) for 2012 here at DoD.