Breaking News: Rijo To Be Fired

((HT: Washington Post))

Chico Harlan and Barry Svrluga reveal the following:

The Washington Nationals have made the decision to fire Jose Rijo, the member of their front office most closely linked to the Smiley Gonzalez fraud, a source with knowledge of the situation said tonight. Rijo owns and operates a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, which the Nationals have used as their scouting base in Latin America.

Rijo, who has worked for the team since 2005 as a special assistant to the general manager, had taken a forced leave of absence from his job this weekend and returned to the Dominican Republic. Now, that leave has become permanent.

By cutting ties with Rijo, the Nationals have also cut ties with Rijo's academy -- the place where the organization and their now-infamous prospect intersected. According to one source, one member of Washington's front office, Mike Rizzo, is currently in the Dominican Republic seeking information about a new facility.

Rijo, reached tonight, was not yet aware of the firing.
Asked if he'd heard anything, Rijo responded, "No, nothing."

A Washington spokesperson said the team would not have any announcement forthcoming tonight. President Stan Kasten has not responded to an e-mail seeking comment.

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated adds GM Jim Bowden may not be long for the unemployment line himself. No known replacement was named in the article...

Nationals GM Under Investigation

((HT: CBS Sports))

Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden ((pictured, thanks SI.com)) is part of a federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses given to prospects from Latin America, according to an SI.com report posted Sunday night.

The website reported, citing an unidentified baseball executive familiar with the investigation, the FBI is looking at Bowden's actions as far back as 1994, when he was GM of the Cincinnati Reds. Bowden met last year with FBI investigators looking into an alleged scam involving skimming signing bonuses for prospects from the Dominican Republic.

Last year, the Chicago White Sox fired director of player personnel David Wilder and two other scouts in the club's Latin American operation after a two-month investigation by Major League Baseball's Department of Investigations. The White Sox said the three were dismissed "for actions in Latin America that were violations of club policy and standards," but did not elaborate.

Findings from baseball's investigation were turned over to federal authorities.

SI.com reported that two unidentified sources inside baseball say that former Latin America scout Jorge Oquendo, who confirmed being contacted by the FBI to SI but denied skimming bonuses, has worked for Wilder and Bowden.

The SI.com report comes a day after the Nationals announced that special assistant Jose Rijo was taking a leave of absence after a Major League Baseball investigation revealed a prospect from the Dominican Republic he discovered was older than originally believed. Rijo is a former major league pitcher and the MVP of the 1990 World Series for the Reds.

Earlier in the week, it was announced that prospect Esmailyn "Smiley" Gonzalez lied about his age and name. Gonzalez received a $1.4 million signing bonus in 2006 when the Nationals signed what they thought was a 16-year-old shortstop.

The Nationals had been listing his date of birth as September 21, 1989, which would make him 19. But Kasten said an MLB investigation determined Gonzalez is actually Carlos David Alvarez Lugo, who was born in November 1985 -- meaning he is really 23.

Kasten and Bowden did not respond to e-mail Sunday night from the AP requesting comment on the SI.com report from the AP.

When Kasten discussed the Gonzalez case earlier in the week, he said no one else with the Nationals, including Bowden, would comment on the investigation.