The Washington Nationals are hiring Paul Toboni as their new president of baseball operations, according to multiple reports.
Toboni, 35, was the Boston Red Sox’s assistant general manager under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. He will succeed Mike Rizzo, who was fired along with manager Dave Martinez in early July after beginning the 2025 season with a 37-53 record. Rizzo had been part of the Nationals’ front office since 2006 and GM since 2009, helping build a team that won the World Series in 2019.
Beginning with the Red Sox as an intern, then area scout, Toboni moved up through the organization while being largely involved in the team’s scouting operation. He was eventually promoted to assistant scouting director and then scouting director.
Prior to becoming assistant GM, Toboni was the team’s vice president of scouting and player development. During his tenure, the Red Sox drafted several young stars who are expected to be key parts of the future for the team, including Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell.
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The Washington Nationals have hired Boston Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni (center) as their new president of baseball operations. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
(Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox via Getty Images)
He also oversaw drafts involving Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez, the prospects packaged in the trade for ace Garrett Crochet.
The Nationals settled on Toboni after a wide search that reportedly included Dodgers senior VP Josh Byrnes, Red Sox assistant GM Eddie Romero, Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman and Cubs GM Carter Hawkins, according to The Athletic.
Toboni becomes the latest alum from the Red Sox front office to take a top decision-making role with another team, joining Arizona Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen and Pittsburgh Pirates GM Ben Cherington, in addition to Jed Hoyer of the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals executive Chaim Bloom, Dave Dombrowski of the Philadelphia Phillies, who are president of baseball operations for their respective teams.
Toboni’s eye for drafting and developing young talent will be key in overseeing the Nationals. Since selecting star players Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon in the 2009-11 drafts, Washington has not drafted an impact player in the first round. Recent top picks Brady House, Elijah Green and Dylan Crews have yet to fulfill their potential.
The team’s top young players — James Wood, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz — were acquired as prospects by trading stars such as Juan Soto, Trea Turner and Max Scherzer.
A more immediate concern for Toboni to address is whether to retain interim manager Miguel Cairo, who replaced Martinez. His 27-41 record would appear to suggest that the new POBO will make his own choice for a new manager.
Ultimately, team ownership hopes a new president of baseball operations will bring stability to a front office operation described as “chaotic” last week in the Washington Post.
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