The abrupt move severs Washington from the two minds behind the team's only World Series title in 2019. On Sunday, the Nationals lost 6–4 to the Boston Red Sox to drop to 37–53 on the season.

Washington took a step back in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and then Rizzo began tearing apart the roster, making a series of trades that sent Scherzer, Soto, Turner and others elsewhere.