LAS VEGAS — The Washington Nationals hired Simon Mathews to be their pitching coach, the team announced Tuesday.
Mathews, 30, joins a young staff headed by Blake Butera, who was hired last month and, at 33, is the youngest manager in the major leagues in more than 50 years.
LAS VEGAS — The Washington Nationals hired Simon Mathews to be their pitching coach, the team announced Tuesday.
Mathews, 30, joins a young staff headed by Blake Butera, who was hired last month and, at 33, is the youngest manager in the major leagues in more than 50 years.
Mathews spent the past five years with the Cincinnati Reds, the first four as a player development coach before becoming assistant pitching coach in 2025.
“He’s an unbelievable person, leader, incredibly humble and has a level of pitching acumen and expertise that I think will really help drive our pitchers forward,” Paul Toboni, the Nationals’ new president of baseball operations, said at MLB’s general managers meetings. “He’s also bilingual and … he has kind of a unique way of relating to players and staff members of all different backgrounds.”
Before arriving in Cincinnati, Mathews worked for two training facilities: Push Performance and Driveline Baseball. In those roles, he designed throwing programs for pitchers that emphasized improving movement patterns and arm care. A Georgetown graduate, he also played baseball for the Hoyas.
“Simon brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and a wide range of experience to our staff,” Butera said in a statement. “He is grounded, has great perspective on pitching and connects incredibly well with players at all levels. He is widely respected throughout the game and the type of coach that makes everyone around him better. Simon is a tireless worker and is uniquely equipped to help our pitchers reach their full potential.”
The Nationals also are hiring Bobby Wilson from the Texas Rangers as catching coordinator, according to multiple people with knowledge of the move who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it had not been announced. Wilson, 42, had a central role on Bruce Bochy’s staffs in Texas and helped develop Jonah Heim into a Gold Glove winner.
The Nationals hired Michael Johns as their bench coach Monday. He worked with Butera with Tampa Bay.
Chelsea Janes contributed to this report.
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