Some of you have said that you want to stop talking about the failures of the past. But successful business executives often talk about the past successes and failures as learning tools. This subject was covered published in the Harvard Business Review titled, Why Making Mistakes Is Essential for Growth as a Real Leader and the author wrote, ❝ Acknowledging and learning from wrong turns helps leaders make their teams and businesses stronger. Failing to take advantage of the opportunity for reflection and change can lead to repeated mistakes, reduced morale, and missed growth opportunities. ❞ While painful to rehash those wrong turns, that is what former Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo called his annual ‘autopsy’ after a failed season.
And we go straight to current events from an X.com back-and-forth of he said, she said on what happened in the Washington Nationals rebuild with Kevin Frandsen who has been the play-by-play announcer for the team’s television broadcasts:
Instead of Rizzo doing the autopsy after the 2025 season, it was newly hired President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni, who had that task. But then you need to look forward to ask yourself, ‘How can we improve?’ That is an honest introspective that we all should be doing in our lives, especially as you make New Year’s resolutions.
This video (below) was taken by me at the annual Hot Stove event almost a year ago on Saturday January 25, 2025. The Nats had just signed Shinnosuke Ogasawara the day before, and the MLB roster was late to be completed for the 2025 season. Rizzo wouldn’t sign Kyle Finnegan until Feb. 27, and he added Lucas Sims, Colin Poche, and Paul DeJong after Spring Training camp had opened.
There was a lot packed into that video. Rizzo said, “You have to do what you have to do to sustain greatness. … by having a core group of guys who will be with you through those years. … When your [prospect] stars become [MLB] stars — that’s when you take off.” We can be honest with ourselves that we have seen glimpses of stardom from many players on the Washington Nationals. And Rizzo was right, your prospect stars need to become the MLB stars.
How did those prospect stars do? James Wood and MacKenzie Gore were stars for the first half of the 2025 season. Both were named to the 2025 All-Star team based on their excellent first halves. CJ Abrams has been a star for the first half of 2024 and the 2025 seasons. But Dylan Crews only turned in 26 games that would be rated as above average, and that is not good enough. Brady House turned in far fewer above average games. On top of that, most of the pitching staff was terrible in 2025.
How do you improve going forward? That is the million dollar question for Toboni and his staff. Most of the improvement will have to come internally from the current roster that is left in the event that players like Gore and Abrams are traded away. How do you internally improve? That comes down to each individual player as well as the coaches efforts to assist these players in reaching a higher potential. The TalkNats article on 10 percent improvement hit the mark. Do that year-over-year and you stretch to 74 wins in 2026 and then to an 82 win season — and then you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
The 2025 season did give one pleasant breakout in the arrival of Daylen Lile who placed 5th in Rookie of the Year voting. Going into the season, Crews was the frontrunner to be Rookie of the Year, and that did not happen, obviously. If Lile can take his offensive success that he found on the West Coast road trip at the end of June in which he hit .327 with a .911 OPS for the remainder of the season, the Nats might have found one of their core pieces.
Through a trade acquisition, Toboni acquired Harry Ford as the team’s newest catcher. He joins a crowded field with Keibert Ruiz who is owed $36.9 million going forward, plus the team has Riley Adams under contract as well as Drew Millas. If Ford is the answer, the Nats can check one major need off of their list. Adding catching coach, Bobby Wilson, could help this process along.
That leaves first base, the starting rotation, and bullpen as the gaping holes as of today. Tomorrow could look much different depending on the daily status of Gore and Abrams. Most believe that Abrams won’t be traded since he has three years of team-control remaining.
Key Responsibilities & Goals:
- Build a Winning Culture: Toboni has stated that he wants to be, “The envy in his sport.” To do that, they must foster competitiveness and high performance, drawing inspiration from successful organizations like the Oklahoma City Thunder as Toboni said.
- Modernize Operations: Implement new systems, focusing on scouting and player development, away from past stagnation. As Toboni put it, he wants to build “a player development monster.”
- Develop Talent: Help young players reach their full potential, creating a pipeline of cost-controlled stars.
- Hire Key Staff: Toboni build his MLB staff, and is now finalizing his minor league staff, player development staff, and front office staff.
- Embrace the Challenge: Tackle the task of turning around a struggling franchise, working with ownership to achieve new heights.
Respect the past, learn from the past, and do that for the purposes of continual improvement. This is not to be negative. This is a job for Toboni, and while it might be a game to us, it is a business to him. His job is to win.
