Diamondbacks bringing back hitting coach Joe Mather

The Arizona Diamondbacks are running it back with hitting coach Joe Mather, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro is reporting.

The D-backs signed manager Torey Lovullo to a two-year contract at the start of the offseason, and he said shortly after that he needed to make decisions regarding his coaching staff.

Pitching coach Brian Kaplan will not return after two seasons, and Mather coming back is the next major domino.

Mather has been the Diamondbacks’ hitting coach for the past five seasons, taking on the role after the 2021 campaign.

From 2024-26, only the Los Angeles Dodgers scored more runs than the Diamondbacks (2,416), as Arizona led the league in scoring in 2024 and finished sixth in 2025. Throughout Mather’s tenure, the Diamondbacks have been a high-walks, low-strikeouts offense.

This past season was more uneven for the offense collectively, which tied for ninth in MLB in scoring but made up a lot of ground over the final eight games (59 runs). Hitting right-handed pitching and converting with runners in scoring position were costly shortcomings, and blame has been shared between the roster construction and coaching.

Ketel Marte, Corbin Carroll and Geraldo Perdomo hit .250 combined, a step back for the superstar trio. Bounce backs will be critical to the D-backs’ success next year.

At the same time, Gabriel Moreno enjoyed a career season, winning the batting title with a .311 average. Newcomer Nolan Arenado experienced a renaissance, hitting 30 home runs and crediting his work with the hitting coaches for getting back on track at 35 years old.

The Diamondbacks had a number of player debuts this season, such as Ryan Waldschmidt and Tommy Troy, and an important part of Mather’s and his fellow hitting coaches’ jobs will be the continued development of Arizona’s young pieces.

It has not yet been disclosed what other changes or returns will happen on the coaching staff, as Arizona evaluates how to get back to the postseason following three near misses.

Mather spent 2015-19 with the Diamondbacks’ organization in various roles, such as minor league field/hitting coordinator. The 44-year-old previously attended Phoenix Mountain Pointe High School.

Related

Pat Murphy can save baseball and further cement himself as an Arizona legendFormer Diamondbacks great Paul Goldschmidt wants to keep playingMLB proposes 154-game seasons, adding postseason gamesRyan Waldschmidt, Diamondbacks rookies counted on to learn from Year 1Diamondbacks did not make the most out of ABS challenges in its debut seasonJustin Martinez, the one successful reinforcement for the 2026 Diamondbacks