Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Red Sox Front Office Endorses Washington Nationals Hiring of Paul Toboni

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Scott Roche | Last updated Oct 3, 2025 1:00 PM ET

When the Washington Nationals hired 35-year-old Paul Toboni as president of baseball operations, it was a big loss for the Boston Red Sox. Toboni comes to the Nationals after learning the last decade under a franchise that has had its ups and downs.

Toboni started as an intern in 2015, but he worked and learned under some of the top general managers in the spot. He worked with Dave Dombrowski, Chaim Bloom, and Craig Breslow. That is an experience that will pay dividends in his new role with Washington.

Toboni's leaving is a move that creates a big opening in the Red Sox front office. One thing that should excite Nationals fans is what Boston’s front office leaders thought of Toboni and the job he’ll do in Washington.

Red Sox Front Office Endorses Paul Toboni Hiring By Nationals

Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

The Red Sox were eliminated in the American League Wild Card Series by the New York Yankees, 4-0, in Thursday night’s deciding Game 3. Before the game, Boston’s front office brass praised Toboni for the job he did with them, but also excited for his opportunity, they told the Boston Globe (subscription required).

“So excited for Paul. He deserves it. He did an amazing job for us. We wouldn’t be here in the postseason without him,” Red Sox president Sam Kennedy said. “Brutal loss for us, but really happy for him. A sign of a good organization is when you have people plucked from your organization. And we’ve dealt with that going all the way back to 2011 when the hometown kid (Theo Epstein) left us for Wrigley.

“The great part about this industry is that you root for people at other clubs. So we’ll root for the Nationals and it’ll be fun to watch what he does there.”

Boston has an opening for a general manager to work with Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow, and Toboni was going to be heavily considered for the job, according to the Globe. There doesn’t seem to be any hard feelings for Toboni leaving, and Breslow praised him ahead of his new job.

“Paul is an incredibly talented executive. Always believed he was going to get a chance to run a baseball operation,” Breslow said.

Toboni has his work cut out with the Nationals and a big checklist of things to do. He needs to hire a permanent manager, and he wants to create a scouting and player development monster.

After working under Dombrowski, Bloom, and Breslow in Boston, he has learned a thing or two about building a roster that is a contender and has developed some young talent that is ready to break out as early as next year.

That is something the Nationals desperately need with a young core in place. It’s not going to be easy or done quickly, but Toboni’s experience with the Red Sox is something that should help him in making decisions in the nation’s capital.