There were questions about manager Torey Lovullo’s future after the Diamondbacks’ season ended, but they put those to bed when they gave him a two-year deal on Oct. 1. While the D-backs parted with pitching coach Brian Kaplan five days later, Lovullo’s staff will have the same hitting coach in 2027. Joe Mather will return for a sixth season, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports reports (via Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports).

Mather, a former outfielder who played in the majors from 2008-12, became a minor league coach for the Diamondbacks in 2015. He left the organization to become the Reds’ assistant hitting coach ahead of the 2020 season. After two years in Cincinnati, he returned to Arizona in his current position. Although the Diamondbacks have only made the playoffs once since then (their NL pennant-winning season in 2023),  they have scored the majors’ fifth-most runs during Mather’s tenure.

Arizona finished sixth in runs and seventh in wRC+ in 2025, but it fell to 11th and 18th in those respective categories this season. Catcher Gabriel Moreno hit .311 and won the NL batting title, which is a feather in Mather’s cap. He also oversaw a resurgence from third baseman and offseason acqusition Nolan Arenado, who swatted 30 home runs for the first time since 2022. On the other hand, core players like outfielder Corbin Carroll, second baseman Ketel Marte and shortstop Geraldo Perdomo were less effective than they were last year. All three turned in above-average numbers, but the mercurial Marte had a stark drop-off (his wRC+ plummeted from 146 to 103) and served as a distraction at times.

Marte was MIA for the start of a series in Boston on Aug. 17, leading Arizona to place him on the restricted list. The club moved Marte to the injured list with left knee inflammation on Aug. 20, which occurred the same day he smoothed things over in a meeting with his agent, Lovullo and general manager Mike Hazen. Marte returned to play 22 games in September, but he struggled to a .683 OPS in the final month.

After the Diamondbacks finished 86-76 and fell two games shy of a playoff berth, Lovullo suggested he would no longer treat Marte with kid gloves. Meanwhile, Hazen said he hopes Marte, who will turn 33 on Oct. 12, “will overcome his consistent acts of immaturity.” Hazen listened to offers for Marte last offseason, though he didn’t find anything to his liking. While Hazen could do so again this offseason, Marte has full no-trade protection after earning 10-and-5 rights in April.

Assuming Marte sticks around, Mather will try to get more from him next season. With Moreno, Carroll, Perdomo, Arenado, and outfielders Lars Nootbaar, Ryan Waldschmidt and Jordan Lawlar also among position players still under control through 2027, Mather could work with largely the same cast next year. Hazen has publicly identified the need for a left-handed hitter, however, meaning there may be at least one outside addition.