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 Pitching Coach Pete Walker Arrested On DUI Charges
Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker was arrested Friday morning on charges of speeding and driving under the influence, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. (WFLA’s Nathaniel Rodriguez broke the news.) Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling adds that Walker was released on a $500 bond later that morning, and that he will make a statement to media following the Jays’ game with the Yankees this afternoon.
According to the affidavit, Walker was allegedly driving 82mph in a 45-mph zone when pulled over by police. Walker failed sobriety tests, and told officers that he had been drinking at a local restaurant earlier that evening.
Walker has been a member of Toronto’s coaching staff for 10 seasons, working as the club’s bullpen coach in 2012 and then moving into his current role as pitching coach. He previously worked for the organization as a minor league pitching coach and instructor, and also pitched for the Jays during four of his eight MLB seasons as a player. Walker has been highly regarded for his work with Jays pitchers over the years, most recently credited with helping turn Robbie Ray into the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner after Ray suffered through a disastrous 2020 season.