Longtime Nationals Executives Are Out As Paul Toboni Has Started To Make Changes
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The first dominoes have started to fall under the leadership of Paul Toboni.
Changes were expected to be made to the Washington Nationals' front office after Toboni was hired to become the team's new president of baseball operations, and that is exactly what has begun to take place.
According to Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic (subscription required), assistant general managers Eddie Longosz and Mark Scialabba will not return to the Nationals. They are part of a group of more than a half-dozen employees who have departed.
Longosz and Scialabba are two longtime employees of Washington who were brought in by former general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo. And even when Rizzo shook up the front office and player development side of things a few years ago, they remained.
Who Are Eddie Longosz and Mark Scialabba?
Hired in 2010, Longosz worked his way up from scouting assistant to assistant director of scouting operations after four years. Then, after one season in that role in 2015, he was promoted to the director of scouting operations.
Longosz then was named the vice president and assistant general manager of player development and administration in November of 2023, a prominent position under Rizzo that had him in the thick of things when it came to decisions.
Scialabba had been with the Nationals for even longer than Longosz. He started in 2006 as an assistant director of player development. He then was promoted to director of minor league operations. He held that role from 2009-2013 before earning another promotion, this time to director of player development. After first being named assistant GM of player development in 2019, he then was named the assistant GM of player personnel in 2021.
The departures of these two key figures shouldn't be surprising considering Toboni is trying to reshape things in Washington. But fans should be excited about these changes, since both Longosz and Scialabba have played integral parts in how the Nationals have operated over the years.
More Changes Are Set to Come for Nationals
In addition to the departures of Longosz, Scialabba and other employees, Ghiroli reported that more changes have either taken place or are set to take place when it comes to other parts of this organization.
"The entire list of changes is unknown, but sources told The Athletic the organization also parted ways with several scouts and members of the team's staff in Florida," she added.
Again, this is not surprising and was expected when Toboni was hired. However, for this to officially be happening now in the early part of the offseason as the Nationals get set for their first winter under this new regime, it brings some excitement for what's to come.
"The changes are just the start of what is expected to be a major shakeup under Toboni, who was formally introduced in a press conference at Nationals Park last week," Ghiroli wrote.
