Amidst a relative lack of activity this offseason, Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has made a key move.
Earlier this month, Breslow promoted executive Paul Toboni to the role of senior vice president and assistant general manager.
Toboni previously served as the club’s vice president of amateur scouting and player development, a role in which he helped bolster the depths of Boston’s farm system. The Red Sox drafted and developed several top prospects under his guidance from 2020-2022, including Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, Nick Yorke, Blaze Jordan, Mikey Romero, and Nathan Hickey.
A highly regarded executive in the Red Sox organization, Toboni was considered for the chief baseball officer job before the role was offered to Breslow. Upon his appointment to the position, Breslow hinted at a restructuring of the front office.
Craig Breslow names Paul Toboni Red Sox assistant general manager
Some actual Red Sox news: Boston has promoted Paul Toboni to assistant GM in one of the first significant front-office moves of Craig Breslow's tenure.https://t.co/yrxE1SMi3s
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) January 10, 2024
Since then, Breslow has named four assistant general managers, with Toboni being the latest. He joins Eddie Romero, Raquel Ferreira, and Michael Groopman among the Red Sox executives to hold that title.
Breslow has not yet named a general manager, and it’s believed that he could be holding internal interviews for the role.
This move could also allow the Red Sox to keep Toboni with the organization for a longer period of time. After all, the title bump gives Boston the right to turn down another club’s interview request should that team want to hire him for the same role.
Impact of Paul Toboni’s promotion to Red Sox assistant general manager
Toboni’s leadership during the amateur draft from 2020-2022 helped the Red Sox to turn around their farm system rather quickly. What was once regarded as one of the worst pipelines in baseball has suddenly become a fringe top-10 system.
This promotion not only reflects the Red Sox’s faith in Toboni as an executive but also confirms their commitment to building a youth movement. By promoting a talented, highly-regarded executive with experience overhauling multiple levels of the minor leagues, the Sox have re-affirmed their focus on finding the best young talent in hopes of becoming a postseason contender in the second half of this decade.
For Red Sox fans, this means patience will be necessary — a fanbase that has grown accustomed to immediate results must now expect to wait a couple of years before the up-and-coming young stars make their mark at the big-league level.
Of course, good things come to those who wait. A lack of competitiveness will be uncharted territory for the Red Sox organization in recent years, but perhaps the end result — repeated success as a perennial contender in the back half of this decade — will be worth it.