We're officially one step closer to seeing a new front office setup in Washington. Paul Toboni, the 35-year-old Assistant General Manager of the Boston Red Sox, has officially been named as the Nationals new President of Baseball Operations.
There are a couple reasons why this should stand out. First of all, this was a standalone role during most of Mike Rizzo's time atop Washington's front office, as Rizzo had held this title in addition to GM since 2013. Second, Toboni's resume is very strong, and perhaps stronger than most outsiders expected.
Let's dig deeper into that second point. Toboni spent a decade with the Red Sox, including nearly two years in his current role under GM Craig Breslow. Much like Rizzo, Toboni's roots are in scouting, but the fruits of his labor have been much more favorable in recent years.
“Worked really hard to integrate player acquisition with player development [in Boston]”
— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) September 24, 2025
“Going to be a huge loss”
“Masterclass in acquiring the best player development minds out there”
Couple thoughts from people who have overlapped with Toboni. Nationals got a good one. https://t.co/e77o2Xcjqv
The drastic improvement of Boston's farm system came under Toboni, who was in charge of the draft when they selected a slew of top prospects including outfielder Roman Anthony, shortstop Marcelo Mayer, infielder Kristian Campbell, left-handed pitchers Payton Tolle and Connelly Early, as well as the package of prospects sent to the Chicago White Sox in the blockbuster trade for ace starter Garrett Crochet. Over the last couple years, the Red Sox have boasted one of the best farm systems in all of MLB.
If the Nationals were able to draft and develop half as many phenoms as that, it would do wonders for their future projections. Unfortunately, Washington won't be eligible for a top 10 draft pick this year, but at least now there is more reason to believe they could identify a relative diamond in the rough, something they have been mostly unable to do over the last decade or more.
In terms of front office structure, it's interesting to note that this hadn't been a solo role in Washington recently. That raised an obvious question: will there also be a GM that reports to Toboni? That questions appears to have been answered.
Paul Toboni will be named president of baseball operations for the Nationals and will hire a GM under him, sources say. A huge jump for Toboni, who was the AGM in Boston.
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) September 24, 2025
Only time will tell who that GM will be, but the fact that they hired an outsider likely means, if nothing else, that it won't be interim GM Mike DeBartolo. Pairing Toboni's scouting expertise with an analytics expert would be logical, and it would also be reasonable to expect someone from Boston, or with recent ties to the Red Sox. And of course, the leadership group will also need to hire a new manager, unless they retain interim skipper Miguel Cairo.
Notably, two high-ranking executives have already left Washington for seemingly greener pastures, including Danny Haas returning to the Orioles, and Brad Ciolek leaving to join the Tigers. This seems like another reason to believe the Nationals are likely cleaning out the entire front office.
Regardless of what this leads to the rest of the front office becoming, the presence of a fully structured leadership group will likely improve the organization and the on-field product moving forward.
What do you think about the Nationals hiring Paul Toboni? Let me know your thoughts @stephen_newman1 on X.