Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats
First reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN that the Nationals were hiring Boston Red Sox assistant general manager, Paul Toboni, as their head of baseball operations, it came to fruition as Toboni was introduced this morning as the President of Baseball Operations. A start to a new era by the Washington Nationals.
The Nats interviewed several candidates for the position, and a source told us that Toboni’s strong scouting, draft, and player development background was what pushed him over the top above other candidates. The 35-year-old also has a strong background in analytics, played baseball in college, and later earned his MBA.
We were able to have a conversation after the press conference with Paul Toboni, and when we asked him if he is ready to find his “Jayson Werth” as a long-term player commitment, Toboni said that he would like that, but realizes that it has to be the right player who will align to the timing of when this team is ready to be a dominant contender.
“The more money that the team generates on the business side, that money will flow [directly] into what we can spend on players.”
— Toboni told us in a conversation after the press conference
As Passan points out, Toboni had been a key figure in Boston’s draft in recent years as the Red Sox had already put together a farm system full of talented prospects that included players who already were promoted to the big leagues, with Passan listing Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Payton Tolle, Connelly Early and those who were included in the Garrett Crochet trade. Boston sent Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman González to the White Sox in that blockbuster trade.
Even after trading key prospects for Crochet, Baseball America ranks Boston as of last week as their 5th best farm system in baseball with the following rankings:
- 2025 Midseason Rank: 5
- 2025: 1
- 2024: 13
- 2023: 10
- 2022: 11
- 2021: 21
- 2020: 22
Top prospects in the Boston system include Tolle, Early, OF Jhostynxon Garcia, LHP Brandon Clarke, and 1B Justin Gonzales. Baseball America listed some of the issues with SS Marcelo Mayer at the top of that list. So yes, not everything was perfect there. And as we know, GMs just like prospects, are best judged in hindsight.
Because Toboni comes with a background as a college player and scout, he has shown an eye to recognize amateur talent which not everyone can do. When he talks, you can get a feel that Toboni does his research along with vetting players. How he talks to high school and collegiate coaches, teammates, and families is something that we were told is how Toboni connects. Some consider his approach to baseball and analytics as cutting edge.
“We’re going create a scouting and player development monster that hopefully leads to a winning culture — and one that lands us as a perennial contender.”
— Toboni said
“When you initially get into the game — and you’re part of this younger demographic, you think about chasing players that fit great on a spreadsheet.”
“But there’s so much more to it, and as the game has continued to modernize, placing an incredible amount of focus on creating a winning culture is front of mind for me. What that means is, we want to create an environment where our players are not just holding themselves accountable — but holding each other accountable.”
Was part of that response by Toboni inspired by Dylan Crews’ exit speech on Sunday? He used the exact words of “hold each other accountable.” Here is the full quote from Crews as he said, ❝It all starts with day one next year, and coming out in Spring Training and setting the tone — setting the standard right away, and really holding each other accountable from the start. I think a lot of times this year we were able to brush things under the rug, and we should’ve said something. I think from the start next year, we really need to hold each other accountable, and set the tone — find the standard for next year.❞
The Toboni résumé starts with his time as an amateur baseball player and playing prep ball at St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco, CA. Toboni then attended college and played baseball at Cal Berkeley where he earned his B.A. in Political Economics and played in the College World Series in 2011. His baseball career was cut short by hip injuries that required surgeries. With the dreams of playing as a pro gone, Toboni decided to get his MBA at Notre Dame with the thinking he could pursue baseball from a front office perspective.
Most of the questions on this day was about future spending and the philosophies of building a winning team for long-term success.
Before graduating from his Master’s program, Toboni took his first baseball job as an intern in 2013 with the Oakland A’s followed by a letter he sent to former Bosox GM, Ben Cherington, that led to an internship in 2015 with the Red Sox. Boston hired him full-time as an area scout, and he was quickly promoted to the Director of Scouting in 2019. His ascent continued to the VP of Scouting and Player Development then most recently to the AGM and Senior VP role after the 2023 season.
After the press conference, Toboni was whisked around to meet with sponsors, VIPs, pose for photos, sit in on a radio show with 106.7 The Fan, as well as breakout sessions with local TV stations. The overarching question was about player payroll. He must have been asked that a dozen times today.
A lot of work ahead for Toboni.
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