Nationals Pluck Rising Red Sox Front Office Executive As Paul Toboni's First Hire

Paul Toboni turned to his old organization to make his first hire as the leader of the Washington Nationals.

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The Washington Nationals are going through some major changes this offseason under Paul Toboni, the new president of baseball operations. There is plenty of work for him to do in the nation's capital. 

There are a number of areas the former assistant general manager of the Boston Red Sox needs to address, from the players on the field to everywhere else within the organization. He began by making some sweeping changes to the organization, opting to not bring back multiple longtime front office employees.

On Tuesday, it was reported by Alex Spier of the Boston Globe (subscription required) that Toboni is turning to his former organization to make his first hire as the executive of the Nationals, as he's set to hire the Red Sox's former scouting chief Devin Pearson, who has brought in a lot of talented prospects to the American League East powerhouse.

Nationals Hiring Rising Executive From Red Sox

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Pearson has worked with Toboni as Boston's amateur scouting director since 2023. He oversaw their last three drafts, which have resulted in them landing some good young talent in left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle, catcher Kyle Teel -- who was traded to the Chicago White Sox -- and infielder Kristian Campbell.

Pearson was seen as a rising executive and is a good addition by Toboni. There are going to be a number of offseason decisions that need to be made, beginning with a pitching staff was was not very good last year. They have some promising young up-and-coming arms that need to stay healthy.

This move also could be huge in terms of any potential trades the two organizations could make this winter. There are some players the Red Sox would be interested in, including pitcher MacKenzie Gore. If that is a player Craig Breslow targets for Boston, Toboni and Pearson have very extensive knowledge of what prospects they should get back from their former team.

This is the first significant hire for Toboni in Washington, and there are a lot more needed. They still don't have an official manager in place to start building a new coaching staff. There has not been any names linked to the position that is currently filled by Miguel Cairo on an interim basis.

Several more decisions need to be made, but for Toboni, this is a good start. Changes and results are not going to happen overnight for the Nationals, but hiring Toboni and Pearson from a Red Sox organization that competes every year is great first step.