Nationals have interviewed Red Sox' AGM Eddie Romero

The Washington Nationals are continuing their attempts to get a front office in place before the offseason. Per a report from Ken Rosenthal and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic, the Nats recently interviewed Eddie Romero, assistant general manager of the Red Sox. In a tweet, Ghiroli also mentions Royals assistant general manager Scott Sharp, though it’s unclear if Sharp has interviewed for the job.

Romero had been with the Red Sox for a while, having been hired in a scouting role back in 2006. He has since risen through the ranks, earning the titles of assistant GM and executive vice-president in 2018. His work in Boston is clearly respected within the Red Sox franchise. In the fall of 2023, after the Sox had fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, Romero interviewed to be his replacement. That job ultimately went to Craig Breslow.

Longtime Red Sox exec Eddie Romero has impressive resume

Romero is the second Boston assistant GM to be connected to the opening in Washington. It was reported last week that Paul Toboni is also a candidate. Thursday’s reporting confirms that Toboni did indeed interview for the job. However, Breslow is planning to hire a GM to work as his second-in-command, and Tim Healey of The Boston Globe writes that Toboni is a strong candidate for that position. If Toboni ultimately gets tapped for the GM role in Boston, that takes him off the table in Washington and could also lead to increased speculation about someone like Romero leaving.

Like Romero, Sharp has been with his club for many years, having been hired by the Royals in 2006. General manager J.J. Picollo currently heads the Kansas City front office. Sharp has been connected to several vacancies over the years, including the Mets’ GM search back in 2018, the Angels’ GM search in 2020 and the Giants’ GM search last year.

Sharp withdrew himself from the Giants’ GM search about a year ago, per Rosenthal. That was reportedly due to family considerations, though Rosenthal noted at that time that Sharp had an interest in running a front office at some point in the future.

The Nationals have been rebuilding for years, but the lack of progress led to the firing of president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez in July. Assistant GM Mike DeBartolo was given the GM title on an interim basis. He is a candidate to run the front office beyond the 2025 season, though the Nats have also considered a number of external candidates.

Other candidates on Nationals' radar

In addition to Romero, Toboni and Sharp, Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman, Dodgers senior vice president Josh Byrnes and D-Backs AGM Amiel Sawdaye have been tied to the Nats. Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins was also in the mix but is reportedly no longer in the running.

Per Rosenthal and Ghiroli, the Nats are considering hiring both a president of baseball operations and a general manager. It’s therefore possible they hire two of these aforementioned executives, though there are perhaps others in the mix who haven’t been publicly connected to the club.

The Nats aim to finalize those decisions by the end of the regular season, allowing them to pivot to the managerial search. Miguel Cairo has been the interim skipper since Martinez was fired. Whether Cairo remains a candidate is presumably dependent on who is eventually picked to run the front office and how that person approaches the managerial search.