The Atlanta Journal Constitution had a brief item on Roy Clark and his interview with the Nationals. From the linked article, it appears that Clark would become an Assistant GM with oversight of scouting (Dana Brown’s old role), player development (Bob Boone & Bobby Williams’ domain) and international scouting (no one officially there before outside of Jose Rijo in the Dominican). That’s quite a jump up from his current role with the Braves.
This is not Clark’s first time linked to the Nationals. Back in 2006, the Nationals spoke with Clark about coming on board. Clark turned down the role that eventually went to Mike Rizzo.
Combining the talents of Rizzo and Clark would certainly be a positive for the Nationals. Rizzo played a large role in the Arizona drafts that helped rebuild them while Clark has served in a comparable role for the Braves over the last decade.
#1 by estuartj - October 13th, 2009 at 14:35
Espinoza is starting at Shortstop today vs Mesa, batting 2nd. Marrero is DH and batting 5th.
#2 by Pilchard - October 13th, 2009 at 14:59
Interesting potential Clark/RIzzo pairing in that Rizzo’s rep (not sure if it’s accurate or not) is that he prefers drafting college players with his top draft picks. The Braves with Clark have had the reputation of drafting HS players with their top picks (Jason Heyward, Cody Johnson, Freddie Freeman, Jon Gilmore) with much success. Hope this is a sign that Rizzo is not wedded to a single source for players (especially top picks), but is willing to explore every available avenue to acquire talent.
#3 by Brian Oliver - October 13th, 2009 at 15:02
Pilchard – That was my thought as well. I am trying to pull together a side-by-side of each’s drafting history.
It seems Clark has had a good read on the HS but how much of that was influenced by his scouts. With the opposite question for Rizzo.