TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to improve their offence in 2025. On Monday, the club announced they’ve hired David Popkins as their new hitting coach.
“David’s ability to game plan and connect with players in different ways is a really exciting addition to our coaching staff,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said in a press release. “He’s a true expert in all types of hitting information and will help our offensive strategy for each game. We’re looking forward to the instant impact of his relentless work ethic.”
#BlueJays announce that they’ve hired David Popkins as their new hitting coach. He last worked with the Twins, where he spent the past 3 seasons before he was not brought back after the 2024 season.
— Kaitlyn McGrath (@kaitlyncmcgrath) October 21, 2024
Popkins most recently worked for the Minnesota Twins, where he led the club’s hitting department for the past three seasons before he was let go following the 2024 season.
Formerly a minor-league instructor with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Popkins was hired by the Twins in 2022 and immediately hit it off with players for his knowledge of different approaches to developing hitters, including the latest industry trends and new ideas introduced in the hitting space, as well as his refusal to subscribe to a one-swing-fits-all theory.
During Popkins’ three seasons with the Twins, the team finished 10th in the majors in Weighted Runs Created Plus (107) and ranked 13th in runs scored, though they were 10th-best over the past two seasons.
After Popkins helped Carlos Correa overhaul his swing during the middle of the 2022 season, Correa — then a pending free agent — described Popkins as the best major-league hitting coach he’d ever worked with.
At times in 2024, the Twins featured a top-five offence in the majors as they rode hot summers from Correa, Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis and others. But the offence slipped when Correa and Buxton suffered significant injuries in July and August. The Twins scored only 3.6 runs per game over the final quarter of the season, during which they fell out of a playoff spot. The Twins dismissed Popkins and two other hitting coaches earlier this month, citing a switch in philosophy.
The Blue Jays moved on from former hitting coach Guillermo Martinez following the 2024 season after Toronto’s lineup underperformed expectations. The club ranked 23rd in runs scored (671), 26th in home runs (156) and 18th in OPS (.703) in 2024. The Blue Jays also removed Don Mattingly from his offensive coordinator role — a title he held for only one season. He will go back to being solely a bench coach in 2025.
The Blue Jays lineup has been on a downward trend in recent seasons and in the aftermath of the disappointing 2024 season, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro said their offensive decline “warrants some real reflection on the way we’re putting the team together and combining talent.”
There are still vacancies on Toronto’s major-league coaching staff. The Blue Jays are still in search of a bullpen coach to replace Jeff Ware, who was removed from his role after the season. Gil Kim, the team’s field coordinator, is also not returning to the coaching staff and could be replaced.
(Photo of Popkins (left) with Byron Buxton: Brace Hemmelgarn / Minnesota Twins / Getty Images)
