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Nationals Boss Paul Toboni Reveals Specific Roles for His New Executives

Paul Toboni has revealed the roles of his new Washington Nationals front office executives.
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When Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni started hiring his front office staff, there was some indication about what roles they would own.

Devin Pearson and Andrew Wright -- both of whom were hired away from the Boston Red Sox -- were the first one's added to Toboni's staff. It was expected that Pearson would get the assistant general manager title, but it wasn't clear what position Wright would have.

Then, it was revealed that Toboni decided to keep former interim GM Mike DeBartolo on board, although his exact role wasn't clear at the time, either. Finally, Justin Horowitz -- another person with a previous Red Sox background -- was hired away from the Pittsburgh Pirates to join this new Nationals front office.

With those members now in place, Toboni has revealed what roles each of them will have.

As expected, both Pearson and Horowitz will own assistant general manager titles. But it's interesting to see DeBartolo go back to having his previous title of assistant GM, while also being the senior vice president.

And while it wasn't stated in the above report by Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post, the team at Talk Nats reported that Wright has started working for the Nationals under the title of special assistant to the president of baseball operations after operating as Boston's field coordinator in his previous role.

Paul Toboni Announces What Roles Each Executive Will Have

Two dark blue Washington Nationals hats
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But beyond the job title announcements Toboni made regarding his staff, he also gave a further idea of what each front office executive is going to oversee and be involved in. That should be exciting for this fanbase as they get a better idea of how things are going to be run.

First, it's been revealed that Pearson will oversee Washington's player development operation. That's notable because he had been the director of amateur scouting for the Red Sox the past couple of years, overseeing their drafts where they landed some talented players.

Pearson worked alongside Toboni in that department for Boston, so not having him involved in drafting as his main focus with the Nationals is interesting. Perhaps Toboni thinks it's more important for the talented executive to get the most out of the prospects already in their pipeline. But this is an eye-catching decision on the surface.

After Horowitz was the director of amateur scouting with the Pirates, he will continue to oversee amateur scouting in his new AGM role while also being involved in trades and international scouting. So at least there will be talented executive involved in the draft process for Washington.

As for DeBartolo, he will help oversee baseball operations. That likely will have him working closely with Toboni, which is also notable since DeBartolo was one of the lone members from the previous regime who was kept on staff.

Now that these titles and roles have been revealed, it's time for Washington to get to work and start pushing this franchise forward in this new era.

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Brad Wakai
BRAD WAKAI

Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai