One day after hiring their bench coach, Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera named Simon Mathews as their new pitching coach.
Mathews, 30, was the Reds' assistant pitching coach this past season.
“Simon brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and a wide range of experience to our staff,” said Butera. “He is grounded, has great perspective on pitching and connects incredibly well with players at all levels. He is widely respected throughout the game and the type of coach that makes everyone around him better. Simon is a tireless worker and is uniquely equipped to help our pitchers reach their full potential.”
Cincinnati recorded the seventh-best ERA in the National League at 3.86. The Nationals had the second-highest ERA (5.35) and opponents’ batting average (.268) in baseball last season. The team moved on from pitching coach Jim Hickey, who had held the role since October of 2020. It remains to be seen if pitching strategist Sean Doolittle remains on the staff.
Mathews worked in the Reds' Minor League system for four seasons. He held the roles of assistant coordinator of rehabilitation and pitching initiatives (2023–24), rehab pitching coordinator (‘22) and implementing Cincinnati’s pitching program at its Dominican Republic academy (‘21).
Prior to the Reds, Mathews was the director of pitching at Push Performance and an online trainer at Driveline Baseball. He developed throwing programs that promoted arm health and improved movement patterns and velocity.
In 2017, Mathews signed with the Angels as a non-drafted free agent. He appeared in 71 games from ‘17-19 and reached Triple-A. Mathews began playing collegiate baseball at Temple University and transferred to Georgetown University, where he graduated in the top 10 in program history in wins, ERA and strikeouts while completing a degree in political economy with minors in Spanish and Portuguese.