Nationals Finalizing Deal To Hire Paul Toboni As New Head of Baseball Operations
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The Washington Nationals have reportedly made their decision on who is going to be leading this franchise's baseball operations team going forward.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Nationals are finalizing a deal with current Boston Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni to become the new head of baseball operations in the nation's capital.
There was a report back in mid-September that revealed Washington was eyeing Toboni as a possible candidate. At the time, current Chicago Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins seemed to be the team's primary target, but a few days later, he pulled out of consideration.
The Nationals wasted little time making up their mind regarding who they want to take over the reins, as they decided to hire Toboni and get a new regime in place heading into the upcoming offseason.
BREAKING: The Washington Nationals are finalizing a deal to name Paul Toboni their new head of baseball operations, sources tell ESPN. Toboni, 35, rose rapidly to become assistant GM for the Boston Red Sox and is widely regarded as one of the best young executives in MLB.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 24, 2025
This is notable news for a franchise that has fallen from being a true contender to an afterthought in the pantheon of Major League Baseball. And as they try to get their rebuild back on track following a brutal showing this year, they are tasking Toboni with that job.
MacKenzie Gore was vocal about what he wanted to see from whatever regime was brought in to guide Washington forward, so it will be interesting to get some reactions out of the players when the team makes the announcement official.
But first thing's first: who is Toboni and why should this fanbase be excited about this hire?
Paul Toboni Is Viewed As Rising Star
At 35 years old, Toboni is someone who is viewed very highly in baseball circles. Like Passan pointed out in his initial report, Toboni "is widely regarded as one of the best young executives in MLB."
He began his baseball journey as a baseball operations intern with the then-Oakland Athletics in 2013. In 2015, he was also a baseball operations intern with Boston, a position that got his foot in the door with that franchise and allowed for his rapid ascension up the ladder.
Toboni's background is in scouting. He became an area scout for the Red Sox in 2015 and was named the assistant director of amateur scouting in 2016. After three years, he became the director of amateur scouting for Boston before he was named the vice president of amateur scouting and player development in September of 2022.
Toboni has been in his assistant GM role since November of 2023, which is a rapid rise through their ranks since he began as an intern eight years before he became a right-hand man of the executive who is running one of the game's most storied franchises.
It's not clear if this hire is going to work out or not for the Nationals since nobody can predict the future. But it is clear that Washington just made a huge splash with this hire, bringing in a rising star of the sport to lead their franchise going forward.
