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Washington Nationals pitchers didn’t miss many bats in 2025. The team that new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni is inheriting finished with just a 19.9% strikeout rate, which ranked third-worst in MLB. Not surprisingly, he sees that as an issue.“Missing bats is good, so we want to miss bats,” Toboni told me at the GM Meetings. “I think it starts with doing a really good job of staffing out with folks who can create a structure for our pitching staff, to put together a process for them to do so. Create a culture, not solely around that, but to be a big piece of it. It’s a debate that has been solved over time, right? It’s an important thing to do, so we’re going to want to do it.”Shortly after I talked to Toboni it was announced that the Nationals have hired Simon Mathews away from the Cincinnati Reds to be their new pitching coach. The 30-year-old former Los Angeles Angels prospect replaces 64-year-old Jim Hickey.
Creating The Next Envy of Sport by Paul Toboni, Washington Nationals President of Baseball OperationsBaseball's Winter Meetings begin this week, marking the unofficial start to what baseball people call the "hot stove season" – a throwback to a time when if you wanted to talk baseball in the winter, you literally gathered around a hot stove. In that same vein, I wanted to take this chance, metaphorically, to gather Nationals fans around to talk not only about how we're going to approach this offseason, but the long-term future of our ball club.When I left a great job at the Boston Red Sox to take the job of president of baseball operations in Washington, I said that my goal is to make the Nationals the envy of sport.To me, that means an organization defined by our relentless pursuit of excellence, strengthened by our connection to each other and fueled by our positive energy. As a result, we become an organization that players and staff are itching to join because they know it’s where they will develop and thrive most; a place that energizes our loyal fans and attracts new ones, and where success is achieved – and sustained – over time.In pursuing that goal, we have several advantages, including young, exciting talent, a vibrant city, and passionate, smart fans. It is my job to support and insulate that talent with a better pipeline, and, just as importantly, help current Major League players find the extra gear they need to fulfill their potential.Late DeMatha High School coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Morgan Wootten often talked about a winning effort being the precursor to actual wins. The same is true in baseball. What players and coaches do or don't do shows up every night in the box score in black and white. That's the kind of visible scoreboard I embrace.I intend to take accountability for our organizational consistency. That means our coaches and development staff speak with a unified voice, from our academy in the Dominican Republic up through the Major League level, so that players continue to get the same messages as they progress through their careers.It also means that every player in our system will enhance his talents and work hard to eliminate deficiencies through individualized player plans. We will create “priority goals” for each player, ranked by those which offer the greatest benefit once improved. Perhaps that goal is developing a pitcher's third pitch, improving a hitter's strike zone discipline, or increasing an infielder's range. Each goal achieved unlocks the next, creating a journey, and eventually a culture of continuous improvement.Somewhere out there, the players who will comprise the next great Washington Nationals teams are taking shape, and they will largely be developed inside our walls. Our coaching and development staffs are already at work setting priority goals, systematically identifying and tackling them one by one. Improvement won't just happen by accident – it will be the product of excellent planning, thoughtful collaboration and diligent execution.One thing that has been gratifying for me to see early in my tenure with the Nationals is how a commitment to continual improvement is taking place in all areas of our organization, which can create a meaningful flywheel effect. After all, a strong business can support better baseball – and vice versa – and it's that high-functioning partnership that can ultimately drive sustainable winning.Progress comes from stacking good decisions on top of good decisions. In the two months I've been here, this has manifested itself most visibly in the construction of our baseball operations staff, hiring and maintaining some of the best talent in the industry to oversee player development, work in research and development, and oversee our hitting and pitching programs.The biggest piece of our offseason so far has been hiring Blake Butera as our manager. Blake is an exemplary person who is aligned with our values and goals and understands what it takes to create a culture of sustained success. Blake's time in the dugout and in the front office also uniquely position him to lead our Major Leaguers as we seek to push our big-league players to find their next gear.Building a team that becomes the envy of sport is an ambitious goal. Some days it will feel as if we're moving quickly; others might feel like we've hit rush-hour traffic on the Beltway. There will be pockets of frustration. It will certainly take time, measured in years. And baseball is a game that involves luck as well as skill – injuries suffered or avoided; balls that drop in that could just as easily been caught. We can only control what we can control. But the most important thing is that we're continuing to move forward.It has been two months since Washington, D.C., and Nationals fans everywhere welcomed me and my family to your region and your team. With each day that passes, we're becoming more familiar with this vibrant and diverse city, and we love how it brings together people from all walks of life.Baseball, too, brings people together. Growing up in San Francisco, I remember going to the yard and watching players like Barry Bonds and Tim Lincecum, and how the entire community came alive knowing every pitch had the chance to be special. During my time with the Red Sox, I felt the electricity throughout the city during our 2018 World Series run; an energy which ran through Washington the following year. My hope is that by building sustainable success, Nationals Park can be grounds for childhood memories, family gatherings, work outings, nights with friends, and, in a city that sometimes struggles to find it, perhaps even political common ground.I want kids growing up in the D.C. area to fall in love with the game the same way I did – by coming out to the ballpark. I want fans of all ages to know that when they come to Nationals Park, they'll see a team that plays hard for them — driven every day by their support.More than anything, I'm appreciative for the chance to help realize this vision and humbled to be part of the effort. It's a responsibility – to this fan base and to this city – that I don't take lightly.
Nothing in that about spending or competing for a championship. Just "sustainable winning" to get parents to bring their kids to the ballpark, so they can get suckered into spending money there later in life.
I was interested in the whole "individualized plans" for each player in the organization. That sounds pretty coherent. It seemed it was more on the players and the training academies to do their own before. I'm sure we can find some Rizzo discussion of talking to each player at the end of the season, but this seems to be more milestones and targeted.
Is there any way every player didn't already have individualized programs and goals? College programs do that.I think the Nationals had plans and analytics. They were just bad and stale b the end.
To do it in a real way with meaningful follow through seems labor intensive and expensive. I’ll believe it’s more than just talk when I see it
Toboni on the MLB network earlier said his primary focus now is on 1B.
He did say they’ve invested in technology. I assume that means the simulator that rizzo wouldn’t buy.
They probably got permission to buy smart phones
Creating The Next Envy of Sport by Paul Toboni, Washington Nationals President of Baseball Operations
Maybe I missed it ..do we have a GM now or is Toboni functioning as one as well?
Devin Pearson will oversee the Nats player development operation.Justin Horowitz will oversee acquisitions (amateur scouting, trades, international scouting).Mike DeBartolo will also oversee baseball operations.
