Toboni: Not just a Jabroni for POBO

[aspenbubba]

He was up for manager here when they eventually hired Davey (?) but he left before the final decision was rendered and signed with the Phillies(?). He ain’t coming back.

I was wrong as Long left in 2021. What was going on during that off-season? There was indecision in the FO about something and I have no recollection.

[Slateman]

I was wrong as Long left in 2021. What was going on during that off-season? There was indecision in the FO about something and I have no recollection.

It became obvious that ownership wanted to go cheap. Long wanted a multi year deal. Ownership said no. Long moved on.

[IanRubbish]

Bochy was fired, should he be on the short list?

No.  Mini Me is not going to meet his salary expectations.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Off the top of my head, Cito Gaston went from hitting coach directly to manager to 2 time World Series winner without managerial experience. There's probably others. Heck, Bob Brenley went from TV to manager to WS winner without being a coach or a manager.

[Natsinpwc]

Castellanos has regressed under Long. 
Bohm and Stott have not met expectations as first round draft picks.
Harper was already good.  JTR is about the same. 

The only guy who ha seemed to improve much under Long on Philly is Schwarber.

On the other hand Soto is still a great hitter without him.

[Slateman]

Turner has been great. Realmuto and Marsh had their best years with Long. Bohm has been an above average hitter the last three seasons.

[imref]

Toboni on the 11th inning podcast just dropped.

[IanRubbish]

He's saying the right things and is no doubt an upgrade over Rizzo.  That said, will be interesting to see what gets done given the org's general dysfunction.

[imref]

a look at tobleroni's drafts:
https://www.federalbaseball.com/general/86652/breaking-down-paul-toboni-draft-philosophy

Doesn't seem all that different from Rizzo: prioritizing middle IF/C/CF and pitchers who get strikeouts.

[Slateman]

a look at tobleroni's drafts:
https://www.federalbaseball.com/general/86652/breaking-down-paul-toboni-draft-philosophy

Doesn't seem all that different from Rizzo: prioritizing middle IF/C/CF and pitchers who get strikeouts.

Uh ... literally everyone in baseball "prioritizes" these things.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

just tossing out a name for pitching coach: Dan Hubbs, the A's bullpen coach. Was formerly the Tigers director of pitching development when Skubal, Mize, and Vest were coming through the system. Laurila's Sunday Notes has a lot  on Vest's development, but here are some excerpts:

Vest was one of three pitchers (Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal were the others) whose development process the now-Athletics’ bullpen coach looked back on in the September 23 article. Spin rates that were “off the charts” was an attribute Hubbs saw in the then-under-the-radar prospect, as were “good movement profiles on everything he threw.” For the young hurler, success at baseball’s highest level “was just a matter of him getting comfortable competing in the strike zone.“

What are Vest’s memories of working with Hubbs, and in which ways has he continued to develop in the years that have followed?

“I knew that I had stuff,” Vest told me in the waning days of the regular season. “It was more about homing it in, more about the pitch-ability. There was some raw stuff he saw in me that we’d work on. Velo. Developing a changeup. Refining my slider. I could spin the ball pretty well; I just didn’t have good command. That’s what I refined throughout the minor leagues, and he helped me do that.

“When I got into pro ball, the nuances of analytics had kind of taken over,” added Vest, whom the Tigers took in the 12th round of the 2017 draft out of Stephen F. Austin State University. “We were all learning how to use it to help us as pitchers. [Hubbs] was at the forefront, leading that charge in our organization, bringing analytics to the pitching staff.”

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/sunday-notes-detroits-will-vest-developed-into-a-quality-closer/

The  9/23 article was an interview with Hubbs.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/dan-hubbs-looks-back-at-tarik-skubal-casey-mize-and-will-vest-circa-2020/

[rileyn]

Toboni is whipping it out

[Slateman]

Toboni is whipping it out

?

Are you referring to this: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6700483/2025/10/08/nationals-paul-toboni-staff-changes/

The Nationals have begun making significant personnel changes under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, with the departures of more than a half-dozen employees, including assistant general managers Eddie Longosz and Mark Scialabba, league sources told The Athletic on Wednesday.

The entire list of changes is unknown, but sources told The Athletic the organization also parted ways with several scouts and members of the team’s staff in Florida. Mike DeBartolo, who served as interim GM and was a candidate to lead baseball ops, will remain with the organization, the sources say.

[PowerBoater69]

They didn't put DeBartolo in place a week before making the #1 pick without the intention of giving him the full time job. Rizzo has been trying to save face by telling his friends in the media that he was fired because he refused to fire Martinez, which is laughable that he'd be let go over an administrative issue just days before the single biggest decision point of the year.

As expected, DeBartolo stays, although just about all of the other remnants of Rizzo's front office were let go today. Might be they were good guys but probably they should have read the tea leaves back in July.

[Slateman]

https://xcancel.com/barrysvrluga/status/1975969872044872103?s=46

One scout described it as a “blood bath.”

[varoadking]

https://xcancel.com/barrysvrluga/status/1975969872044872103?s=46

One scout described it as a “blood bath."

 

[imref]

Paul Lessard is gone. Golden says Dan Jennings, Kasey McKeown, Steve Arnieri, & Jay Robertson (all scouts) are gone.

[madj55]

Paul Lessard is gone. Golden says Dan Jennings, Kasey McKeown, Steve Arnieri, & Jay Robertson (all scouts) are gone.

Damn - medical staff getting cut too?!

[IanRubbish]

Just need the coaching blood bath to begin soon as well.

[imref]

TalkNats:

As we reported during the interview process that the Nats were able to gather information on what other teams were doing with staffing, salaries, and front office budgets. What they learned was that they were so bloated in salaries at the top of the organizational chart and had too much burden on the responsibility for scouts.

Was told by a source that there was one scout who Rizzo hired who was paid in the upper $100's which was unheard of. There were more sordid details that we don't have to rehash. Let's just say Paul Toboni is going to rebuild the departments with qualified people at fair salaries and have plenty of money for Trajekt Arc machines per a source.

Svrluga says this is a cost reshuffling, not a cost-cutting. Coaching staff still not informed of their fate.

More details and names here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/10/08/nationals-front-office-changes/

[SkinsNatFan21RIP]

TalkNats:
Svrluga says this is a cost reshuffling, not a cost-cutting. Coaching staff still not informed of their fate.

And Svrluga is falling for it as well now lol. "Not a cost-cutting" from the Lerners means they found somewhere they can put more money in the pocket. Boy is Toboni going to be pissed when he goes to hire new people and he's told its not in the budget.

[varoadking]

"Not a cost-cutting" from the Lerners means they found somewhere they can put more money in the pocket.

Yeah...Marky doesn't do anything if it doesn't cut costs...

[imref]

anyone know if tom, abe, george, and teddy are still employed?

[Kevrock]

 Blame everywhere except at the top, still

[Kevrock]

A “blood bath” lmao, this is what happens everywhere under new leadership. Good lord. Glad we aren’t wasting much time, though.