Paul Toboni seemingly faced a choice: Continue building what he helped start with the Boston Red Sox, or become the lead decision-maker for the Washington Nationals.
Toboni, 35, chose the No. 1 job, opting to become the Nationals’ president of baseball operations rather than remain in contention to be the general manager of the Red Sox under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, according to sources briefed on the matter.
Toboni is expected to hire a general manager under him soon, sources say.
The Nationals wanted to settle on a new leader for their front office by the end of the regular season. After firing Mike Rizzo on July 6, they left open the possibility of naming a president of baseball operations to replace him and a GM to work as the No. 2 person in the organization.
It isn’t immediately clear if interim general manager Mike DeBartolo will stay in the organization in some capacity after being passed over for the permanent gig.
Toboni reportedly was a top contender for the Red Sox’s GM vacancy, but instead will take over a Nationals team that is enduring its sixth straight losing season since winning the 2019 World Series. Over the past five seasons, only the Colorado Rockies have lost more games than the Nats, who were 64-94 entering play Wednesday.
The Nationals had been operating under DeBartolo, who interviewed for the top job last week. Other executives under consideration, according to sources briefed on the team’s process and published reports, included Los Angeles Dodgers senior vice president Josh Byrnes and Cleveland Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman. Chicago Cubs GM Carter Hawkins, Arizona Diamondbacks assistant GM Amiel Sawdaye and Red Sox assistant GM Eddie Romero were among the others who interviewed.
The Red Sox had promoted Toboni multiple times in recent years, from director of amateur scouting to a vice president of amateur scouting and player development in September 2022, then to senior VP and assistant GM in November 2023. The GM position would have been the logical next step if he had stayed within the Red Sox organization.
Outfielder Roman Anthony, shortstop Marcelo Mayer and infielder/outfielder Kristian Campbell are among the players the Red Sox drafted during Toboni’s time running the amateur scouting department. His drafts also included right-hander Hunter Dobbins and left-hander Connelly Early, as well as two of the four players the Red Sox traded for left-hander Garrett Crochet (infielder Chase Meidroth and catcher Kyle Teel), and the one they traded for catcher Carlos Narváez (pitcher Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz).
Toboni was also assistant GM when the Red Sox drafted another player they included for Crochet (outfielder Braden Montgomery) and left-hander Payton Tolle with their first two picks in 2024.
The Red Sox’s recent success in scouting and player development seemingly would appeal to the Nationals, who have struggled in both areas. Since 2013, the Nationals have drafted and developed only two players with career bWARs above 5.0. Those two — Nick Pivetta and Jesús Luzardo — made their marks with other teams.
News of the Nationals’ hiring of Toboni was first reported by ESPN.
(Top photo of Paul Toboni, Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham and manager Alex Cora (l-r) at Fenway Park in September 2024: Maddie Malhotra / Boston Red Sox / Getty Images)
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