Washington Nationals hats and gloves in the dugout against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at PNC Park. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Nationals Make Guardians Assistant GM Latest Interview Target

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Matt Postins | Last updated Sep 15, 2025 7:15 PM ET

The Washington Nationals have interviewed another potential candidate for the general manager job, which opened in July when ownership fired Mike Rizzo.

Per the Washington Post’s Andrew Golden on X (formerly Twitter), the Nationals have interviewed Matt Forman of the Cleveland Guardians, who holds the title of executive vice president and assistant general manager. He works under general manager Mike Chernoff, who has led the franchise since 2015.

The Nationals fired Rizzo, the architect of their 2019 World Series championship team, along with manager Davey Martinez, before the All-Star break. Washington’s ownership, led by Mark Lerner, appears intent on finding their baseball leader first before hiring a manager. Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo has been running baseball operations since the firing and is considered a candidate.

About Matt Forman

Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Forman grew up in the Philadelphia area and he got a degree in journalism and American History in 2011 at Northwestern University. He worked a sportswriter with Baseball America. Two years after graduation, he took an internship in Cleveland’s baseball operations officer and has worked his way up the ladder since.

As an intern he worked in amateur scouting, according to a Q&A he gave to MLB.com a couple of years ago. He remained in the amateur scouting arena in the following years, and his work led to him being promoted to assistant general manager after the Guardians lost the 2016 World Series to the Chicago Cubs.

During that interview, Chris Antonetti, who is the president of baseball operations for the Guardians, said that he envisioned Forman becoming a general manager one day.

The Nationals have reportedly considered at least three other candidates. Chicago Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins works for president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, so a move to D.C would make him the primary baseball decision-maker.

Amiel Sawdaye has been the assistant general manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks for several years working under Mike Hazen. Josh Byrnes is the senior vice president of baseball operations with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But he has prior GM experience with Arizona and the San Diego Padres.

Whoever gets the job will inherit a franchise that has not had a winning season since that 2019 championship. The Nationals will be in the MLB Draft lottery again in December and has a farm system that includes this year’s first-round pick, shortstop Eli Willits.

This article first appeared on Washington Nationals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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