GM: Nationals Negotiated With Bud Black, Dusty Baker Simultaneously

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo says the team negotiated contract terms with Bud Black and Dusty Baker simultaneously before hiring Baker as manager.

In his first remarks on what he calls “a unique situation,” Rizzo says Thursday that “sometimes the negotiating process also tells you a lot about the people that you’re negotiating with.”

Speaking to reporters after the news conference introducing Baker as Washington’s manager, Rizzo says Baker and Black were the finalists from nine candidates.

Rizzo says the decision to pick Baker “did not come down to money; it did not come down to term.” Instead, he says, it was about whom the GM and owners were “most comfortable with.”

The Nationals also agreed to terms with pitching coach Mike Maddux and first base coach Davey Lopes.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press.