The Nationals' hiring of Bud Black as their next manager is not yet a done deal, the two sides having been unable to work out final contract details, leaving the door open for the club potentially to offer the job to Dusty Baker instead, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The Nationals' front office had settled on Black last week as the choice to succeed the fired Matt Williams, but no official announcement was made, presumably out of deference to Major League Baseball's request that clubs not make major news during the World Series. The two sides, though, still were discussing contract details and still had not hashed those out Monday, with the postseason now complete and teams no longer at the mercy of the league.