Ex-Red Sox Exec Fires High-Ranking Nationals Officials In First Days As President

One person even called it "a bloodbath"

Sep 3, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; General view of Nationals Park during the game between the Washington Nationals and the Miami Marlins. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Paul Toboni was a rising star in the Boston Red Sox front office, and the Washington Nationals tabbed him as the man to lead their organization into the future.

Toboni officially took the job as the Nationals' president of baseball operations last week. But the real work began on Wednesday.

According to a report from Andrew Golden and Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post, Toboni has already begun to clean house. On Wednesday, multiple high-ranking officials were let go in a series of "sweeping changes" to the Washington organizational flow chart.

Toboni conducting overhaul of Nationals' staff

Feb 15, 2024; Tampa, FL, USA; Washington Nationals assistant general manager Mark Scialabba talks with media at George M. teinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Among those let go were assistant general manager Mark Scialabba, who had been with the Nationals organization since 2006, and Eddie Longosz, the assistant GM and vice president of player development, according to Golden and Nusbaum.

"The Washington Nationals on Wednesday began a sweeping organizational overhaul, a process that included changes to the team’s player development and scouting operations, according to multiple people within the organization who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the matter," Golden and Nusbaum wrote.

"The changes come as Toboni attempts to revamp the organization and infuse a fresh perspective. Members of Washington’s coaching staff and its front office entered this offseason facing uncertain futures and were aware of the industry standard: that a shift in leadership often precedes a slew of changes elsewhere."

Barry Svrluga, another sportswriter for the Washington Post, wrote on social media that "One scout described it as a 'blood bath.'" And Golden reported that at least four scouts also joined the ranks of those fired on Wednesday.

Hearing at least four scouts have been let go: Dan Jennings, Kasey McKeown, Steve Arnieri, Jay Robertson. Could be more coming. https://t.co/WVPHoy3rma

— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) October 8, 2025

Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reported that head athletic trainer Paul Lessard was also let go.

The Nationals cuts today extend to front office, scouts, medical staff. Head athletic trainer Paul Lessard, who has been in the big leagues since 2005 (with Boston and Cincy) is among those not returning.

— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) October 8, 2025

A miserable 66-96 season for the Nationals was an obvious signal that change was needed, and Washington accordingly fired both general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez, who held their respective jobs when Washington won the World Series in 2019, right after the Red Sox swept them back in July.

All indications in Boston were that Toboni was set to rise to the title of general manager under chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, had he remained with the Red Sox. But the 35-year-old preferred the chance to run his own team.

Now begins the hard part -- actually taking that underperforming team and trying to find the right combination of on-field and off-field talent that turns the team into a winner.

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