Washington Nationals new hitting coach Matt Borgschulte explains why he joined the organization, his philosophy and more
After spending 2025 with the Minnesota Twins, Matt Borgschulte went back to where he was familiar for his next gig - almost. The 35-year-old hitting coach spent three seasons as the hitting coach with the Baltimore Orioles, but in 2026, he’ll serve in the same role on Blake Butera’s staff where he’ll look to lead a young roster alongside a young coaching staff.
“I saw an organization that is making some changes,” Borgschulte told local media of his decision to join the Nationals. “When I started going through the process, it really stood out that [president of baseball operations] Paul [Toboni] was talking about becoming the envy of sport. And the traits that he discussed and outlined -- joy, humility, integrity, competitiveness -- were all things that really aligned with where I want to be and what I want to have in a working environment.”
Borgschulte will now look to lead a Nationals team looking to turn the page after an offensively challenged 2025 season. Washington ranked 20th in run (687), 21st in batting average (.242) and hits (1,314) and 24th in home runs (161).
“The overarching philosophy is - the goal of the offense is to score runs,” Borgschulte said. “We're going to value every aspect of hitting that we can to maximize that run-scoring potential of the offense, whether that’s hitting the ball over the fence in the gap and driving for extra bases, or whether that's taking a good at-bat, taking our walks and really owning the zone.”
He also dove into his philosophy to push the Nationals to “own the zone,” a theme Borgschulte expects to hear often in year one.
“We're going to force pitchers to the middle of the plate, and when they go there, we're going to do some damage. We're going to hit balls on the line, hit balls in the gaps, run. I think you’ve heard from Blake as well -- the ability of this team, that's a young, athletic team, to continue to take those extra bases and do the little things to win games is going to be really crucial.”
“I think sometimes we can make hitting a little bit too complicated for hitters,” Borgschulte said. “So having a simple approach, giving the hitters what they need, information-wise, and working with them on their swing, on what they need to do to improve, but also keeping it simple and making sure that when they go into the box, their mind isn't on what they need to do in their swing. It's simply on the approach, staying in the present moment and executing the plan that they're set out for.”
Matt Borgschulte was one of 12 coaches announced on Blake Butera’s first-year staff.
“The collaboration that we're going to have, the communication that we're going to have is going to be really important,” said Borgschulte. “... I've been coaching for a while, but I haven't stood in a Major League box before. So being able to have all of those different perspectives and bring them together with a group that doesn't have an ego and doesn't [only] want to be the guy with the right answer, we're just looking for what's right for the player. So really excited about our staff and excited to get going.”