The MLB offseason is now underway -- trading has begun, free agency comes soon. It's not too early for teams to start thinking about next season; if or when that season comes. Some times have already begun, swapping players or making changes to their coaching staff: and the Nationals have already been affected.
Mariners poach Nationals' Director of Hitting after team's breakout 2026
This really doesn't come as much of a suprise as Washington's offense took a major step forward -- boasting a league-best offense for the majority of the regular season. The Mariners, just one season after falling short in Game 7 of the ALCS, completely missed the playoffs.
Finishing the season 64-98 with former MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, and a roster full of a supporting cast capable of a deep-playoff run was a complete and total disaster for Seattle, and it cost Dan Wilson his job as manager.
As of now, the Mariners have still not tabbed a new manager, yet it became clear that the offense was in need of repair regardless of their new head man.
Gillman returns to Seattle where he spent four seasons (2021-2025) as Minor League hitting coordinator. He joined the Nationals roughly 12 months ago as Director of Hitting, hired one-month into Paul Toboni's tenure as President of Baseball Operations.
This is the most recent news regarding Washington's coaching staff, since Blake Butera announced the return of his entire major-league staff, aside from five strength coaches. Hitting coach Matt Borgschulte remains with the team.
With Paul Toboni and his front office building up a competent coaching staff for the first time in several years, the Nationals are now beginning to be positioned as a team and organization that other franchises will look to poach from, as the team's breakout 2026 season offensively clearly drew a lot of eyeballs from the rest of the league.
For a Seattle team that has struggled mightily offensively for the last few years, bringing in a guy like Gillman to bring in a much-needed change of voice and opinion in their building, especially as they look to bounce back from what was an extremely disappointing 2026 season.
Moving forward for the Nationals, they will now be looking to replace Gillman as the team looks to replicate their success from 2026 with All-Stars James Wood and CJ Abrams with other steady bats like Daylen Lile and Keibert Ruiz also leading the way. Assuming that the Nationals' pitching improves, the club should find themselves in another spot next season to have more coaches poached, which is a sign of a competent and healthy organization.
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