The Nationals announced their full 2026 coaching staff this afternoon. The only new development is the hiring of Shawn O’Malley as one of two assistant hitting coaches. Andrew Aydt’s hiring in that role was reported in November, while the Nats hired lead hitting coach Matt Borgschulte shortly before the Winter Meetings.
O’Malley joins a major league staff for the first time. The 37-year-old had a three-year playing career in the big leagues, appearing in 124 games from 2014-16. A switch-hitting utility player, O’Malley spent parts of 13 seasons in the minors. He was playing professionally through 2019 before moving into the coaching ranks. A Washington native and former Mariner player, O’Malley joined the Seattle organization as a minor league hitting instructor. He worked his way up from High-A to the Triple-A level by 2024.
Blake Butera is entering his first season as Washington’s manager. The rest of his staff is as follows: bench coach Michael Johns, pitching coach Simon Mathews, assistant pitching coach Sean Doolittle, bullpen coach Dustin Glant, base coaches Corey Ray and Victor Estevez, field coordinator Tyler Smarslok, catching coach Bobby Wilson, and development coach Grant Anders.
Baseball player/coach Shawn O’Malley is not directly related to Walter O’Malley (former Dodgers owner) or Peter O’Malley (Walter’s son and former Dodgers President); they are different families, with Walter and Peter O’Malley being part of the famed Dodgers ownership dynasty, while Shawn O’Malley is a different baseball figure known for his Mariners playing and coaching career.
Is that what we’re doing now? Posting the AI generated Google search results?
Knocking out Aljamain was sick
Sean O’Malley’s biggest MMA wins include his TKO victory over Aljamain Sterling to win the Bantamweight Title at UFC 292 and his unanimous decision win against Petr Yan at UFC 280.
Not the same guy as the baseball player/coach.
Are you for real with thinking he was being serious? You can’t be for real….
No, I figured the “Rock” knew, but that some other readers have not heard of either Shawn
Thanks
It would be nice to see Nats do something to improve team other than hire a bunch of new staff. When then big news is hiring a 2nd assistant hitting coach things are pretty bleak.
As a Mariner fan, when I think of O’Malley, I think of that insane comeback he took part in during the game against the Padres on June 2, 2016.
That game was wild. Went to the grocery store and my roommate called me and said get the hell back home.