The Nationals began the offseason looking for a new coaching staff to assist manager Manny Acta. Those coaches weren't hired until Friday, but there still was reason to believe Acta's job may not be as secure as it once was.
The team had not picked up the 2010 option on Acta's contract, meaning he was essentially in the final year of his deal heading into next season. The Nationals could exercise Acta's option at any time, but reports surfaced recently that Washington was searching for a coach with previous managerial experience in case it decides to fire Acta. Sure enough, Jim Riggleman was hired as the bench coach. Riggleman finished last season as the Mariners' interim manager, and the Nationals would allow him to stay in Seattle if new Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik decides to retain him as manager.
Two former major-leaguers will coach the bases. Marquis Grissom will be first base coach, and Pat Listach will coach third.
The uncertainty about Acta, coupled with the ongoing federal investigation into Major League Baseball's practices in the Dominican Republic that has reportedly centered on general manager Jim Bowden, leaves the Nationals' staff in a state of flux heading into November.
If Bowden is fired in the wake of the Dominican investigation, it is widely assumed assistant general manager Mike Rizzo would be his successor. It's unclear how strong the possibility of a change happening in the front office is, but that would also change the dynamics of how Acta is perceived.
Those issues are large enough that the task of improving baseball's worst team seems almost an afterthought in the weeks before free agency starts.
