Paul Toboni Continues Reshaping Nationals Roster With Latest DFA Decision

Changes continue to come for the Washington Natioanls.

Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Back in the offseason, when Paul Toboni was hired as the Washington Nationals' president of baseball operations, there was a prevailing thought that a lot of roster change would be coming right away.

Whether that was due to trades being made or others getting non-tendered or designated for assignment, the expectation was that Toboni would reshape the big league club under his vision for how he wants things to look going forward.

However, that largely wasn't the case. Toboni decided to use this year as an evaluation period so he can make assessments about who he believes will be part of the long-term puzzle. Now, as the season has begun to come to its end, he has started to make some of those changes that were previously expected to take place.

Nationals Designate Pitcher Trevor Williams for Assignment

Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One that occurred on Tuesday was designating right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams for assignment.
The team announced that was the corresponding move to get fellow right-handed pitcher Matt Waldron on the roster, who was recently claimed off waivers by the Nationals despite his poor season to date.

Williams, who returned following an internal brace procedure that he underwent last year to fix his damaged UCL, came back as a bullpen arm for Washington. He's been fairly solid in that role with a 2.65 ERA across eight appearances this season, but with the Nationals almost firmly out of the playoff picture, they are giving the 34-year-old a chance to sign with a postseason contender by opening him up to waivers and free agency.

This DFA also puts an end to Williams' tenure in the nation's capital. He was originally signed ahead of the 2023 campaign on a two-year, $13 million deal. He outperformed that contract in 2024 when he had a 2.22 ERA through 11 starts. But a flexor strain sidelined him for all but two remaining starts that season. Still, Washington brought him back on another two-year deal. But he struggled to begin 2025 before he suffered his long-term injury.

Nationals Roster Continues to Change

Red Washington Nationals hat on top of a light brown mitt | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Despite the fact that Williams has performed well since returning from injury, it felt like this move was coming at some point, especially with rosters set to expand across Major League Baseball on Sept. 1. And as that intriguing date creeps closer and closer, it's clear that Toboni has started to put his fingerprints on the franchise now that he's almost a year into his tenure as the lead executive of this baseball operations department.

Here are the notable moves from this past winter and during the season that he's made:

-Traded LHP Jose A. Ferrer for prospects C Harry Ford and RHP Isaac Lyon
-Traded LHP prospect Jake Bennett for RHP prospect Luis Perales
-Traded LHP MacKenzie Gore for five prospects
-Traded C prospect Boston Smith for INF Curtis Mead
-Traded RHP prospect Sean Paul Linan for INF Jorbit Vivas
-Traded OF prospect Robert Hassell III for cash
-Traded INF Curtis Mead for LHP Connelly Early
-Traded LHP Foster Griffin for four prospects
-Traded INF Luis Garcia Jr. for three prospects, RHP Jake Bird

That is nine trades that Toboni has made, and that's not even including the lower-level deals he was involved in featuring minor leaguers and the constant shuffling of the roster through different waiver claims. What should stand out is that Toboni is moving on from some of the guys who the past regime liked but doesn't fit what he and his staff want to do. And they are bringing in young pieces who they think can become impact players for them as their replacements.

The DFA of Williams fits into that category even if they did a classy thing by waiting until he reached 10 years of service time before they cut bait.