Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg has been scratched from his scheduled start in Saturday's Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game because of a muscle strain in his neck.

He is listed as day-to-day.  

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After having conversations with Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and interim manager Jim Riggleman, Randy Knorr has decided to become the manager of Double-A Harrisburg, replacing John Stearns.

Knorr spent last season as the team's a bullpen coach, but Rizzo and Riggleman told him his future was as a manager.

Knorr said if he had to do it all over again he would have been more vocal when it came to the pitching staff and try his best to convince Josh Bard and Wil Nieves that catching was more important than hitting.       

"I love managing. It's a new job. I want to be on the bench," Knorr said.

Knorr has a history of success in the Minor Leagues. In 2008, for example, he guided Class-A Potomac to a 79-61 record en route to the Carolina League Championship.

The Nationals have not announced who will replace Knorr as the bullpen coach.

In other news, Rick Schu will replace Ralph Dickenson as the Nationals' hitting coordinator. Best known as an infielder with the Phillies, Schu was a hitting coach with the Diamondbacks for almost two seasons.

The Nationals have decided that Bobby Henley will be their Minor League field coordinator for the 2010 season.

He spent last season as the manager for the Gulf Coast Nationals and Spring Training catching coordinator. Henley was even an extra coach for the Major League club in September of 2006.

What does the promotion for Henley mean for Tim Foli, who was offered the job last month? He could go be back as manager of Triple-A Syracuse or he could have a permanent position as a Major League coach. He spent the last month of the '09 season as an extra bench coach.  

Foli and general manager Mike Rizzo were not available for comment. 
          

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he was surprised that Dana Brown left as the team's scouting director to become a special assistant to the general manager with the Blue Jays.

Before he gave permission to the Blue Jays, Rizzo wanted to make sure the position Brown was interested in was an upgrade from being a scouting director, and it was. Brown will help Toronto with the First-Year Player Draft and trades.

"Because it was a upward move for him, it will be a new challenge for Dana and he is working for a person [GM Alexander Anthopoulos] he is very comfortable with," Rizzo said. "Although it was a surprise, we were not going to stand in his way. Once Dana accepted the job with the Blue Jays, it was a very easy decision to elevate Kris [Kline] to director of scouting."         

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Thursday that the search for a new manager will be in full swing soon. He also said there is a possibility the skipper may not be named until the postseason is over.

Rizzo has spent most of the offseason revamping the front office. Recently, the Nationals named Roy Clark vice president of player personnel, Johnny DiPuglia director of Latin American operations and Doug Harris director of player development. The team also promoted Kris Kline to director of scouting.

"The managerial search is going to begin a little bit more seriously in the very near future," Rizzo said. "But I wanted to make sure we got these vital hirings in the front office as the first part of putting our plan in place." 

Rizzo said interim manager Jim Riggleman is still a strong candidate to remain the manager. During the second half of the season, the Nationals went 33-42 under Riggleman.

"We are [getting ready] to make phone calls, cutting down a long list into a smaller list and discuss with specific people about the managerial job," Rizzo said. "Like I said in the past, we have a terrific in-house candidate in Jim Riggleman, who has as good a chance as anybody to becoming the manager for the Washington Nationals. The search is going to begin a little more seriously in the very near future."

Besides Riggleman, Chip Hale, Bob Melvin and Bobby Valentine most likely will get interviews. Another person the Nationals may look at is Dave Duncan, who is currently the pitching coach of the Cardinals. However, there are reports that Duncan most likely will return to St. Louis.

Through his representative, Burton Rocks, Riggleman said he was aware the Nationals were going to take care of the front office before searching for a manager.

"Mike had told Jim of his plan to revamp the front office first," Rocks said. "Jim just wants the process to play out. Obviously, at the end of the day, Jim really enjoyed working for Mike and [team president] Stan Kasten. Jim wants to be a part of the entire Nationals family." 

The Nationals named Roy Clark vice president of player personnel, Johnny DiPuglia director of Latin merican operations and Doug Harris director of player development. The team also promoted Kris Kline to director of scouting.

Clark joins the Nationals after an impressive 11-year run as director of scouting with the Braves. Clark joined the Braves as an area scout in 1989, and he later enjoyed successive stints as Atlanta's southeast supervisor (1995) and national supervisor (1996-99).

Clark efforts helped the Braves earn Baseball America's prestigious Organization of the Year award three times (1991, 1996, 2005) and USA Today's Organization of the Year citation in 1996. Clark sports a World Series ring from the Braves' 1995 World Championship campaign.

Clark is best known for having procured talents such as catcher Brian McCann, right-hander Tommy Hanson, shortstop Yunel Escobar and right-hander Kevin Millwood.

DiPuglia joins his fourth big league organization with his Nationals appointment. DiPuglia spent the previous 10 seasons working in the Red Sox scouting department, the last four as Boston's Latin American Scouting Coordinator. While in that position, he was responsible for coverage in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, Curacao, Nicaragua, Aruba, as well as all of Central and South America. He earned World Series rings while with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.

DiPuglia, who also enjoyed stints with the Giants and Cardinals organizations, signed or had a hand in the signings of shortstop Hanley Ramirez, second baseman Placido Polanco, outfielder Rick Ankiel, right-hander Anibal Sanchez.

Harris carries 20 seasons of baseball experience as a player, amateur scout and professional scout into his new role with the Nationals. He spent last season as a Major League Scout/Advance Scout with Cleveland after a 12-year tenure with Texas in various scouting capacities. Harris played seven professional seasons in three organizations.

Kline earned the Director of Scouting promotion after spending his initial three seasons in Washington as Assistant Scouting Director/National Crosschecker (2009) and Western Crosschecker (2007-08).

A scout for 20 seasons, Kline joined the Nationals in the fall of 2006 after spending the previous seven seasons with Arizona, the last three of which were spent as the Diamondbacks' Western Supervisor.

Kline earned a World Series ring in 2001 as the Diamondbacks topped the Yankees in seven games. Before joining the Diamondbacks, Kline worked 10 seasons scouting for the Angels after completing his four-year professional playing career.

The Nationals have decided that Kris Kline will be their scouting director, replacing Dana Brown, who is now the Blue Jays' special assistant to the general manager.

An announcement regarding Kline is expected to be made sometime on Thursday.
The news comes less than a day after Roy Clark told the Braves he was going to join the Nationals as assistant general manager.

Together, Clark, Kline and general manager Mike Rizzo will be the go-to guys regarding the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

This past season, Kline was the team's assistant scouting director and national crosschecker.

Kline and Rizzo were not available for comment.  

The Nationals have decided that catcher Sean Rooney will replace catcher Derek Norris in the Arizona Fall League this season.

The switch-hitting Rooney, the eighth-round pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, hit a combined .275 with six home runs and 46 RBIs for Class A Hagerstown and Potomac this past season.        

Norris fractured his left hamate bone while working out in the Instructional League. Norris had surgery performed by Dr. Thomas Graham in Baltimore to remove the fractured hamate bone last week. Norris is expected to resume baseball activities in December.

I just received a call from Braves reporter Mark Bowman of MLB.com. He has confirmed that that Roy Clark is leaving the Braves as their scouting director and joining the Nationals as a assistant general manager.

Clark will help general manager Mike Rizzo and assistant scouting director Kris Kline with the 2010 First Year Player Draft. The Nationals did not confirm the hiring of Clark.

In other news, closer Mike MacDougal had arthroscopic surgery on his right hip on Tuesday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Marc Philippon in Vail, Colorado. MacDougal should begin a throwing program in six to eight weeks and should be fully recovered by Spring Training.

MacDougal had problems with the hip since late August, but pitched until the end of the season. In 52 games for the Nationals, MacDougal saved 20 games and had a 3.60 ERA.