Last season, the Twins made David Popkins the scapegoat for their offensive collapse. This year, they repeated the pattern by moving on from hitting coach Matt Borgschulte. Whether he’ll find the same success elsewhere that Popkins did remains to be seen, but it didn’t take long for Borgschulte to land a new job.

Borgschulte and Smarslok Land With Nationals

Many things went wrong for the Twins in 2025, and the lack of wins made it difficult to retain most of the coaching staff. Those who were dismissed needed to find new opportunities, and Matt Borgschulte now finds himself reunited with a familiar colleague.

Paul Toboni told us manager Blake Butera’s coaching staff for the upcoming season (thread):

Michael Johns — Bench Coach
Tyler Smarslok — Field Coordinator
Matt Borgschulte — Hitting Coach
Andrew Aydt — Assistant Hitting Coach
Bobby Wilson — Catching Coach/Run Game Coordinator

— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) December 8, 2025

Blake Butera, the new manager of the Washington Nationals, has hired Borgschulte as his hitting coach and added Tyler Smarslok as his field coordinator.

Minnesota originally hired Borgschulte in 2018 as the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League affiliate. He continued to rise through the system, reaching Triple-A in 2020. After spending 2021 with the St. Paul Saints, the Baltimore Orioles made him their major-league hitting coach. Borgschulte rejoined the Twins organization last season but lasted only one year.

The Nationals are undoubtedly hoping Borgschulte can elevate their lineup the way Popkins boosted the Blue Jays’ offense this season. After being dismissed by Minnesota, Popkins helped Toronto to the second-best lineup in baseball. Washington, meanwhile, finished 26th.

Smarslok brings a varied resume as well. He served as the defensive coach for the St. Paul Saints from 2021-2023, then became their bench coach in 2024. Last season, he joined the Miami Marlins as their first base coach while also working with infielders and baserunners. He now takes on new responsibilities with the division-rival Nationals.

Twins’ Coaching Direction Growing Stale

The Twins once prided themselves on hiring progressive-minded coaches early in Falvey’s organizational overhaul. But recent moves suggest a shift toward safer, more conventional decisions, exemplified by the hiring of Shelton and signs that the baseball operations department has been outpaced by peers.

Minnesota will open Grapefruit League play at the end of February. What their roster looks like, and how competitively it’s constructed, remains an open question.