Here's Why Nationals Fans Should Be Excited About New Executive Devin Pearson
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After Paul Toboni made some decisions about who would and wouldn't be returning to the Washington Nationals under his leadership, he has now officially made his first hire.
According to multiple reports, Toboni has brought one of his former coworkers with him to the nation's capital, hiring Devin Pearson away from the Boston Red Sox. Pearson served as the director of amateur scouting with the Red Sox, and now he's going to be the assistant general manager for the Nationals.
Upon Toboni's initial hiring, he stated that he wasn't sure if there would be a general manager hired under him this offseason. However, it was later revealed that interim GM Mike DeBartolo was retained in this reshaped front office, although his exact role wasn't made clear at the time.
This is purely speculative, but it stands to reason that DeBartolo will operate as the general manager under Toboni, with Pearson now being brought on to fill out some of the open executive positions. But who exactly is Pearson and why should Nationals fans be excited about this hire?
Devin Pearson Has Been Involved With Star-Studded Drafts
It's no secret Washington hasn't had a great run of recent success when it came to the former regime's draft results. The current faces of their franchise -- MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams and James Wood -- came from elsewhere, and outside of Daylen Lile, there isn't a clear-cut future star who was drafted by the previous front office.
While the role of Pearson with the Nationals hasn't been revealed at the time of writing, it seems like he's going to be heavily involved in the scouting and drafting side of things based on his track record. As the Red Sox's director of amateur scouting for their last three drafts, four of the players he took in the top five rounds -- catcher Kyle Teel, left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle, infielder Krisitan Campbell left-handed pitcher Connelly Early -- have made it to the bigs.
As the assistant director of amateur scouting from 2020-22 -- a position he held under Toboni -- Boston selected star rookies Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, in addition to shortstop Chase Meidroth, second baseman Nick Yorke, right-handed pitcher Hunter Dobbins, first baseman Niko Kavadas and right-handed pitcher Luis Guerrero; all players who have reached the MLB.
With that type of track record -- and others on their way to The Show in the coming years -- Nationals fans should be excited about what Pearson is going to bring to this franchise when it comes to the scouting and drafting side of things.
He's Considered a Rising Star
Washington has been stagnant for a while when it comes to their baseball operations team. While that's to be expected when a longtime executive is still running things, the failure to advance became a detriment to this franchise.
The hiring of Toboni was a great first step when it came to getting out of the proverbial Stone Age, and the subsequent addition of Pearson also serves in that manner since he's viewed fondly in Major League Baseball circles.
With another up-and-coming executive leading this front office, the Nationals could be on the cutting edge of some things for the first time in a long time.
Pearson and Toboni Have Close Relationship
It's important for any baseball operations team to be aligned to achieve success, and with Pearson now coming aboard, Toboni will have someone he has a close relationship with to help him get things back on track in Washington.
Pearson joined the Red Sox in 2017, two years after Toboni began his tenure with the franchise as a baseball operations intern. When Pearson was hired, he worked closely with Toboni for years as Boston prepared for their drafts.
That past history bodes well for how things will operate with the Nationals, and it should inspire confidence in the fans that this will be a well run machine even if there are some growing pains at the start.
