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Nationals Reportedly Targeting High-Profile Cubs Executive for Open GM Role

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 4:47 PM ET

The Washington Nationals will be searching to fill their general manager role for the first time since 2009 when Mike Rizzo took over after the resignation of Jim Bowden.

Rizzo was a staple of the franchise, first joining in 2006 when Bowden hired him to be the assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations. And it was under Rizzo's guide that the Nationals won their first-ever World Series championship in 2019.

But since that point, it's been miserable in the nation's capital, with the decision to tear things down and start a rebuild resulting in apathy from a once-passionate fanbase. A lot of that indifference has to do with some poor decision making by Rizzo, and it put him firmly on the chopping block when Washington struggled so mightily out of the gates this year.

Now, as the Nationals look for a way forward, the first step is to hire a new executive to run things. And according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, they have their sights set on current Chicago Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins.

The Washington Nationals have begun interviewing GM candidates after firing Mike Rizzo in July. He was replaced on an interim basis with Mike DeBartolo.
Chicago Cubs GM Carter Hawkins is on the Nationals short list.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) September 9, 2025

Hawkins was the first hire by the Cubs' president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, when he was named to that current role following the 2020 season after Theo Epstein resigned from that position. Hoyer poached Hawkins from the then-Cleveland Indians when he was the assistant general manager at the time.

Hawkins worked his way up from being an advanced scouting intern to the director of player development before his promotion to assistant GM with Cleveland. During his tenure with Chicago, he has worked heavily alongside Hoyer when it comes to revamping that organization on the scouting, player development and data side of things, which has coincided with the Cubs' farm system being one of the up-and-coming pipelines in the sport.

It's easy to see why the Nationals would have interest in the 41-year-old. They are looking to update how they run things following their organization becoming archaic in comparison to how others operate in this modern age.

Will Nationals Be Able To Land Carter Hawkins?

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An interesting thing about this situation is that Chicago extended Hoyer with a multiyear deal ahead of the trade deadline, so it makes sense that Hawkins might have inked something similar. While that's not confirmed and there's a chance he hasn't signed anything, that could become part of this saga.

However, Hawkins can interview for and accept positions that are deemed to be promotions, which would be the case if the Nationals are also offering him the title of president of baseball operations like Rizzo also had when he was the general manager.

It's still very early in the process when it comes to Washington finding their new executive, but targeting someone like Hawkins is a great sign that they are looking to make a splash with this hire.