Washington Nationals’ skipper Dave Martinez’s contract details emerge...

Dusty Baker was three years removed from his last managerial gig, with 20 years of managing on his resume when he signed what was reportedly a 2-year/$4M deal to manage the Washington Nationals in the winter of 2015.

Bud Black, who was rumored to be the first choice to replace Matt Williams, reportedly balked at the Nationals’ 1-year/$1.6M offer, though Nats’ GM Mike Rizzo told reporters after Baker was hired that both managers were finalists for the gig.

"Bud Black was one of the finalists," Rizzo explained.

"We definitely had financial parameters discussed with [Black] and Dusty at the same time. At the end of the day, we decided to make Dusty our manager."

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

"It was a unique situation," Rizzo said.

"We uniquely had two extremely qualified candidates and we felt that was the best track to go by, because sometimes the negotiating process also tells you a lot about the people that you're negotiating with and as we discussed baseball in the interview process and parameters in the financial process we came to the conclusion that Dusty Baker was the perfect guy for us."

Baker accepted a base salary of $2M per year after he’d reportedly earned $3.5M per with the Cincinnati Reds in his previous gig, but when he was negotiating a potential extension with Washington last summer, he told Washington Post beat writer Chelsea Janes, “I think I’ve earned more than I’m being paid.”

When the 2017 campaign ended with a second straight NLDS loss, the second under Baker, and the fourth in six seasons for the franchise, the Nationals’ brass made the decision to move on from the veteran manager, signing first-time skipper Dave Martinez to what Washington Post writer Jorge Castillo reported tonight is a 3-year/$2.8M contract with an option for a fourth season at $1.2M.

Considering Baker, with twenty years of experience managing in the majors got $2M per, does the number Martinez, who had ten years of experience as a bench coach in Tampa Bay and Chicago, but no managerial experience, accepted surprise you?

Does it seem in keeping with the value the Nationals place on the manager’s position?