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Nationals Boss Paul Toboni Reveals Specific Roles for His New Executives

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Nov 4, 2025 3:10 PM ET

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.

New Nats roles from Paul Toboni:

Devin Pearson (AGM) will oversee the Nationals' player development operation.

Justin Horowitz (AGM) will oversee acquisitions (amateur scouting, trades, international scouting).

Mike DeBartolo (SVP and AGM) will help oversee baseball ops.
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) November 4, 2025

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

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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.