Dodgers Announce Coaches For Six Minor-League Affiliates

With two new franchises in their farm system, the Los Angeles Dodgers decided that continuity was necessary in the coaching staff.

On Monday, the team announced the managers and coaching staffs for their top six minor-league affiliates and it looks extremely similar to last year. Gone are the Albuquerque Isotopes and Chattanooga Lookouts as they were replaced by the Oklahoma City Dodgers and Tulsa Drillers, respectively. One thing that is different among the staffs is the addition of a fourth coach, while most teams usually carry three. This could be a decision made by the new front office in order to better their player development.

For a look at the managers and their staffs, here’s the official press release from the Dodgers:

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced the coaching staffs for their top six minor league affiliates and minor league coordinators for the 2015 season.

The Dodgers will return all six minor league field managers from 2014, with Damon Berryhill (Triple-A Oklahoma City), Razor Shines (Double-A Tulsa), P.J. Forbes (Single-A Rancho Cucamonga), Bill Haselman (Single-A Great Lakes), John Shoemaker (Rookie-advanced Ogden) and Jack McDowell (Rookie-level AZL Dodgers). Last year, Shoemaker managed the AZL Dodgers and McDowell was at the helm in Ogden.

Berryhill returns for a second season as the Dodgers’ Triple-A manager, as the club’s affiliation moves from Albuquerque to Oklahoma City. The 2015 campaign will mark Berryhill’s sixth season as a minor league manager in the Dodger organization after leading Ogden to four playoff appearances in five seasons from 2009-2013. Scott Radinsky will become Oklahoma City’s pitching coach after serving in the same position with Double-A Chattanooga last year and hitting coach Franklin Stubbs returns for his third season with the club’s Triple-A squad and sixth season with the organization. Johnny Washington will serve as a fourth coach for Oklahoma City after serving as Great Lakes’ hitting coach last year.

Shines returns for his 10th season as a minor league manager and second as the Dodgers’ Double-A manager after leading Chattanooga to the playoffs last season. Former Dodger Matt Herges will serve as the Tulsa Pitching Coach after spending 2014 in the same position with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Shawn Wooten returns as the Double-A hitting coach for a second season. Leo Garcia will be the club’s fourth coach after spending the previous two seasons as Ogden’s hitting coach.

Forbes returns for his second season as the Single-A Rancho Cucamonga manager and a 12th season as a minor league manager. Pitching Coach Bill Simas enters his first season with Rancho Cucamonga and fifth with the organization after spending 2014 in the same position with Single-A Great Lakes. Mike Eylward is back for a second campaign as the Quakes’ hitting coach and former Campo Las Palmas coach Rafael Ozuna joins Rancho Cucamonga as the team’s fourth coach.

Haselman returns for his second season as the Loons’ skipper and will be joined on the bench by veteran pitching coach Glenn Dishman, who enters his 11th season with the Dodger organization after spending the last four seasons with Triple-A Albuquerque. Former Dodger Jay Gibbons returns to the organization as the Loons’ hitting coach following a nine-year big league career, which included two seasons with the Dodgers (2010-11). Luis Matos, who played in seven big league seasons with Baltimore (2000-06) and Washington (2006), joins the Dodger organization and will be Great Lakes’ fourth coach. Matos was a hitting coach this past winter for Crillos de Caguas of the Puerto Rican Winter League and also served as a coach in MLB’s Puerto Rico Youth Summer League.

Rookie-advanced Ogden will be piloted by Shoemaker, who spent the 2014 season managing the Rookie-level AZL Dodgers and has been a player, coach, manager and coordinator in the Dodger organization since 1977. The Raptors’ pitching and hitting coaches are both newcomers to the organization, with the additions of Bobby Cuellar and Darryl Brinkley, respectively. Cuellar served as the Minnesota Twins’ bullpen coach in 2013-14 and has over a decade of coaching experience with the Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Texas, Montreal and Seattle organizations. Brinkley, who played 16 seasons of minor league baseball in the San Diego, Pittsburgh and Baltimore organizations as well as in independent and foreign leagues, began his coaching career in 2010 as Manager of the Yuma Scorpions of the Golden Baseball League and served as the hitting coach for the Yaquis de Oregon (2010-13), Tigres Quintana Roo (2011-13) and Broncos de Reynosa (2014) of the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol. Fumi Ishibashi will be Ogden’s fourth coach having previously spent the 2013 season as the Dodgers’ major league bullpen catcher.

McDowell will manage the Rookie-level AZL Dodgers after guiding Rookie-advanced Ogden to the postseason last season. Greg Sabat will take the reins as the AZL Dodgers’ pitching coach following a 2014 campaign in the same position with Rookie-advanced Ogden. Aaron Bates joins the coaching ranks as the AZL Dodgers’ hitting coach after playing for Double-A Chattanooga in 2014, the last of his nine professional seasons. Gil Velazquez will be the club’s fourth coach and joins the Dodgers organization following five years playing in the Major Leagues with the Red Sox (2008-09), Angels (2011) and Marlins (2012-13).

Clayton McCullough joins the Dodger organization as field coordinator following eight seasons coaching in the Toronto organization, most recently as the coordinator of instruction. Damon Mashore will become the club’s hitting coordinator following two seasons as outfield/baserunning coordinator and Rick Knapp returns for a third season as pitching coordinator. Filling Mashore’s role as outfield/baserunning coordinator will be Brady Clark, who enjoyed a nine-year big league career with the Reds (2000-02), Mets (2002, 2008), Brewers (2003-06), Dodgers (2007) and Padres (2007). Travis Barbary (catching coordinator), Juan Castro (infield coordinator) and Todd Takayoshi (assistant hitting coordinator) will return for 2015 in their same roles, while Kremlin Martinez will assume the role of lower-level pitching rover after serving as the club’s Campo Las Palmas Field Coordinator last year.

The complete Dodgers’ minor league staff is listed below:

Triple-A Oklahoma City:
Manager – Damon Berryhill
Pitching Coach – Scott Radinsky
Hitting Coach – Franklin Stubbs
4th Coach – Johnny Washington

Double-A Tulsa:
Manager – Razor Shines
Pitching Coach – Matt Herges
Hitting Coach – Shawn Wooten
4th Coach – Leo Garcia

Single-A Rancho Cucamonga:
Manager – PJ Forbes
Pitching Coach – Bill Simas
Hitting Coach – Mike Eylward
4th Coach – Rafael Ozuna

Single-A Great Lakes:
Manager – Bill Haselman
Pitching Coach – Glenn Dishman
Hitting Coach – Jay Gibbons
4th Coach – Luis Matos

Rookie-advanced Ogden:
Manager – John Shoemaker
Pitching Coach -Bobby Cuellar
Hitting Coach – Darryl Brinkley
4th Coach – Fumi Ishibashi

Rookie-level AZL Dodgers:
Manager – Jack McDowell
Pitching Coach – Greg Sabat
Hitting Coach – Aaron Bates
4th Coach- Gil Velazquez

Coordinators:
Field Coordinator – Clayton McCullough
Hitting Coordinator – Damon Mashore
Catching Coordinator – Travis Barbary
Pitching Coordinator – Rick Knapp
Infield Coordinator – Juan Castro
Outfield/Baserunning Coordinator – Brady Clark
Asst. Hitting Coordinator. – Todd Takayoshi
Lower Level Pitching Rover – Kremlin Martinez