The Boston Red Sox are already looking ahead to next season following their loss to the New York Yankees in the first round of the playoffs.

Boston returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2021 after posting an 89-73 record, but couldn’t make it past New York in the wild card round. According to reports toward the end of the regular season, one of the Red Sox’s top priorities this offseason was to hire a second-in-command to chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

Former assistant general manager Paul Toboni was close to being named Boston’s GM before the Washington Nationals poached the executive, naming Toboni their new president of baseball operations, according to MassLive’s Sean McAdam.

“According to an industry source, the Sox and Paul Toboni were ‘pretty far down the road’ on a deal to elevate Toboni into the role of GM,” McAdam wrote Sunday morning. “But with the Washington Nationals having made Toboni their new president of baseball operations, there’s now far less urgency for the Sox to name anyone for that role.

“The chief reason to promote Toboni would have been to prevent a rival from poaching him, and while there are valued members of the current Baseball Operations staff, the Sox feel they’re in no danger of losing anyone. Thus, status quo could prevail.”

The Red Sox clearly did not want to lose one of their top executives, and were willing to elevate Toboni to retain him. Now that Washington has poached him, Boston’s offseason plans are likely to change as there’s now no urgency to hire a GM.

Now, the Red Sox can direct their attention to other matters that are urgent, like trying to bring back Alex Bregman who is predicted to opt out of his contract.