The Minnesota Twins have announced the hiring of Matt Borgschulte as their new hitting coach. This decision comes as part of a broader overhaul of the coaching staff after the team opted to let go of four assistant coaches. Borgschulte previously served as the co-hitting coach for the Baltimore Orioles for the past three seasons.
In his time with the Orioles, Borgschulte helped the team achieve impressive offensive statistics, with the franchise finishing second in Major League Baseball for home runs and fourth in total runs scored during the 2024 season. Before his tenure in Baltimore, Borgschulte spent four years within the Twins organization, where he notably held the position of hitting coach for their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul in 2021. The St. Louis, Missouri native brings valuable experience back to the Twins.
Following a disappointing finish to the 2024 season, where the Twins lost 27 of their final 39 games to conclude with an 82-80 record, the franchise made significant changes to its coaching staff. The organization released co-hitting coaches Rudy Hernandez and David Popkins, as well as assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon and assistant bench/infield coach Tony Diaz. Throughout August and September, the Twins struggled offensively, ranking 20th in the league with 4.13 runs per game and 22nd with a .684 OPS. This contrasted sharply with their performance earlier in the season, as they were positioned eighth and sixth in those metrics during July.
The Twins are hopeful that bringing back Borgschulte will provide a fresh perspective and invigorate their offense as they look to improve in the upcoming season.