The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to improve their offence in 2025. On Monday, the club announced they’ve hired David Popkins as its 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
The Toronto Blue Jays have brought in former Minnesota Twins hitting coach David Popkins to revamp their offensive approach after parting ways with Guillermo Martinez and restructuring their coaching staff. Popkins spent the past three seasons as the head of the Twins’ hitting department, but was let go following the 2024 season as part of a philosophical shift within the organization.
Before joining the Twins in 2022, Popkins was a minor-league instructor with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He quickly earned the respect of Twins players due to his innovative methods, embracing new trends in hitter development and rejecting the one-size-fits-all approach to swings. His flexibility and understanding of the latest hitting philosophies helped players adapt and thrive.
Under Popkins’ leadership, the Twins finished 10th in Weighted Runs Created Plus (wRC+) with a score of 107 over his three seasons and ranked 13th in runs scored, climbing to 10th in the league over the past two years. One of his notable success stories came in 2022 when he helped star shortstop Carlos Correa revamp his swing midseason. Correa, who was a pending free agent at the time, later called Popkins the best major-league hitting coach he’d ever worked with.
The Twins boasted a top-five offense in the majors for much of 2024, driven by standout performances from Correa, Byron Buxton, and Royce Lewis. However, the team’s production dipped after injuries to Correa and Buxton in July and August, leading to a slump that saw them fall out of playoff contention. The Twins’ offense averaged only 3.6 runs per game during the final stretch of the season, which contributed to Popkins and two other hitting coaches being dismissed.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are looking to address their own offensive struggles. In 2024, Toronto ranked 23rd in runs scored (671), 26th in home runs (156), and 18th in OPS (.703), underperforming expectations. Following the season, the club parted ways with Martinez and moved Don Mattingly out of his offensive coordinator role, returning him to his duties as bench coach for 2025.
Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro emphasized the need for reflection on the team’s offensive decline, saying it “warrants some real reflection on the way we’re putting the team together and combining talent.” As the organization continues to overhaul its coaching staff, vacancies remain, including the search for a new bullpen coach to replace Jeff Ware and a field coordinator following the departure of Gil Kim.
(Photo of Popkins with Byron Buxton: Brace Hemmelgarn / Minnesota Twins / Getty Images