The Diamondbacks are keeping Joe Mather in place, extending the continuity of their offensive staff even as parts of the coaching picture continue to shift.
According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports, via Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports, Mather will return for a sixth season as Arizona’s hitting coach in 2027. The move comes after the club settled the question of manager Torey Lovullo’s future by giving him a two-year deal on Oct.
- Five days later, the Diamondbacks moved on from pitching coach Brian Kaplan, but Mather’s role is staying intact.
Mather’s path with the organization has stretched over a decade. A former outfielder who played in the majors from 2008-12, he joined the Diamondbacks as a minor league coach in 2015. He later left to become the Reds’ assistant hitting coach before the 2020 season, spent two years in Cincinnati, and then returned to Arizona in his current job.
The results under Mather have been mixed in recent seasons, but the overall offensive track record remains strong. Since his return, Arizona has reached the postseason only once - during its NL pennant-winning run in 2023 - yet the club has still scored the majors’ fifth-most runs during his tenure.
This year’s offense was a step back from 2025. Arizona finished sixth in runs and seventh in wRC+ last season, then slipped to 11th and 18th in those categories this season.
Even so, there were some clear bright spots. Catcher Gabriel Moreno hit .311 and won the NL batting title, and third baseman Nolan Arenado delivered a rebound by hitting 30 home runs for the first time since 2022.
At the same time, some of the lineup’s biggest names didn’t match last year’s production. Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo were still above average, but all three were less effective than they had been in 2025. Marte’s decline was especially sharp, with his wRC+ falling from 146 to 103, and his season included off-field friction as well.
That situation came to a head on Aug. 17, when Marte was absent at the start of a series in Boston and Arizona placed him on the restricted list. Two days later, the team moved him to the injured list with left knee inflammation, the same day he met with his agent, Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen to smooth things over. Marte eventually returned and played 22 games in September, but he posted a .683 OPS in the final month.
After the Diamondbacks finished 86-76 and missed the playoffs by two games, Lovullo said he would no longer handle Marte with kid gloves. Hazen was even more pointed, saying he hopes Marte, who turns 33 on Oct. 12, “will overcome his consistent acts of immaturity.”
Hazen explored trade interest in Marte last offseason, though nothing appealed to him. He could do that again this winter, but Marte now has full no-trade protection after reaching 10-and-5 rights in April.
If Marte remains in the mix, Mather will have another chance to coax more out of him. He’ll also be working with a group that could look largely familiar, with Moreno, Carroll, Perdomo, Arenado, and outfielders Lars Nootbaar, Ryan Waldschmidt and Jordan Lawlar all under control through 2027. Hazen has also made clear the Diamondbacks still want a left-handed hitter, so there may be at least one new face in the mix.