Blue Jays Finalize Coaching Staff
The Blue Jays announced their 2025 coaching staff on Monday afternoon. The only previously unreported addition is assistant pitching coach Sam Greene.
The 27-year-old Greene is one of the younger coaches on an MLB staff. This is his first big league coaching work. The Jays noted that he spent the ’24 season working as a senior pitching research specialist. Greene, a Pennsylvania native, pitched collegiately in Canada at Montreal’s McGill University. He has worked for the Jays for four seasons.
Greene joins newly-hired bullpen coach Graham Johnson as assistants to pitching coach Pete Walker. The Jays also shook up the hitting side, bringing in David Popkins to work as lead hitting instructor and tabbing Lou Iannotti as an assistant. The rest of John Schneider’s staff — all of whom are returnees from last season — is as follows: associate manager DeMarlo Hale, bench coach Don Mattingly, first base coach Mark Budzinski, third base coach Carlos Febles, assistant hitting coach Hunter Mense, and mental performance coach John Lannan.
Blue Jays Hire Graham Johnson As Bullpen Coach
The Blue Jays have hired Graham Johnson to serve as bullpen coach, GM Ross Atkins told reporters (including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet). Atkins also confirmed the previously reported hiring of Lou Iannotti as assistant hitting coach and indicated the team was looking to add an assistant pitching coach to work alongside Pete Walker.
Johnson joins an MLB staff for the first time. He had spent the past couple seasons as pitching coach of the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. Johnson also worked in the Houston farm system for four years and spent nearly a decade as a pitching instructor at the collegiate level. The Jays reassigned previous bullpen coach Jeff Ware to a different role within the organization at the end of the season.
Toronto will need a significant improvement from the relief group next season. The Jays had a 4.82 earned run average from their bullpen. Only the Rockies had a less effective relief group. Toronto relievers also ranked second from the bottom with a 20.7% strikeout rate. The Jays cut a trio of relievers after the season, waiving Génesis Cabrera and non-tendering Jordan Romano and Dillon Tate. They’ve yet to make any additions. They’ll need to bring in multiple relievers to address a group that is currently led by Chad Green and Erik Swanson.