Earlier this week, the Oakland A’s announced their 2024 minor league coaching assignments. Fran Riordan and Craig Conklin will return to pilot Triple-A Las Vegas and High-A Midland, respectively, while former A’s infielder Gregorio Petit will helm Double-A Midland, and Javier Godard will take the reins at Single-A Stockton. You’ll find the A’s complete 2024 minor league staff assignments below…
Las Vegas Aviators (Triple-A)
Manager: Fran Riordan
Pitching Coach: Bryan Corey
Asst. Pitching Coach: Bronswell Patrick
Hitting Coach: Brian McArn
Asst. Hitting Coach: Jason Camilli
Fran Riordan will be at the helm for his seventh season with the Triple-A club. In 2019, Riordan led Las Vegas to a first-place finish in the PCL South division with an 83-57 record and was named the Pacific Coast League manager of the year. Bryan Corey enters his second season as Vegas pitching coach after spending the 2022 season as pitching coach for Stockton. He served as assistant pitching rehab coordinator in 2021 and has also served as a pitching coach with the Vermont Lake Monsters (2017), Stockton (2018, 2021), and AZL A’s (2019-20). Bronswell Patrick joins the Aviators as assistant pitching coach after serving as pitching coach for the Arizona A’s in 2023. Brian McArn enters his 26th year in the organization and his third as hitting coach for the Aviators. He spent the 2021 season as assistant hitting coach for Las Vegas, after spending the previous three seasons as the Stockton hitting coach. Jason Camilli joins the A’s organization as assistant hitting coach for the Aviators. Prior to this, he served as assistant hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies from 2021-23. Dave Comeau will serve as an athletic trainer in his second season with the Aviators, following eight years of experience in the Yankees and Braves systems. He was the assistant athletic trainer in 2023. Jake Routhier joins the Aviators as an athletic trainer after serving as head athletic trainer for the RockHounds last season. He previously held the same role for Lansing in 2022, Stockton in 2021, and in the Dominican Summer League in 2019. Steven Thayer joins the Aviators as sport performance coach, a role he held in Lansing in 2023 and in Stockton in 2022. In 2021, he worked with the Giants organization as a sports performance coach with the Dominican Summer League.
Midland RockHounds (Double-A)
Manager: Gregorio Petit
Pitching Coach: Paul Abbott
Hitting Coach: Juan Dilone
Asst. Hitting Coach: Darryl Kennedy
Gregorio Petit will take the helm in Midland after serving as manager for Stockton in 2023. He was signed by the A’s in 2001 and made his Major League debut with Oakland in 2008. After an 18-year professional career, Petit began his managerial career with Double-A Corpus Christi in the Astros organization, a role he held through the 2022 season. Paul Abbott joins the RockHounds as pitching coach after serving in the same role for the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox from 2021-23. Abbott played in parts of 11 Major League seasons and served as a pitching coach at different levels of the Boston Red Sox organization for 13 years. Juan Dilone will be promoted to hitting coach after serving three seasons as assistant hitting coach for Midland. He previously spent four seasons as the hitting coach for Beloit after spending the prior seven years in the same role with rookie-level Arizona. Darryl Kennedy takes on the role of assistant hitting coach for Midland in his first season with the A’s organization. Prior to joining the A’s, he served as the bench coach for the KBO Hanwha Eagles from 2021-23 and spent 12 seasons coaching at multiple levels in the Kansas City Royals organization. Eric Fasth, who served as head athletic trainer for Lansing last season, will take on the same role with Midland for the 2023 season. He previously served as seasonal assistant athletic trainer for Las Vegas in 2021 and as head athletic trainer in Stockton in 2022. Rounding out the staff is Jake Kistaitis in his first year as sport performance coach for Midland, a role he previously held with the ACL A’s in 2023. In 2022, he served as a strength and conditioning coach in the Dominican Republic where he oversaw the strength and conditioning program for the A’s academy.
Lansing Lugnuts (High-A)
Manager: Craig Conklin
Pitching Coach: Don Schulze
Hitting Coach: Kevin Kouzmanoff
Asst. Hitting Coach: Ruben Escalera
Craig Conklin enters his second season as manager for Lansing after spending the 2022 season as assistant hitting coach. He previously served as assistant hitting coach for Stockton and has spent nine years in the A’s organization. Conklin worked for the MLB Scouting Bureau prior to joining the A’s. Don Schulze enters his fourth season with the Lansing staff as pitching coach after serving in the same role for Beloit for the previous three seasons. This will be Schulze’s 19th year overall in the Oakland A’s system. Kevin Kouzmanoff will take on the role of hitting coach for the Lugnuts, a role he previously held with Stockton (2022-23) and Midland (2021). The former big leaguer is in his sixth year with the organization. Ruben Escalera joins Lansing as assistant hitting coach after spending the 2023 season as hitting coach with Stockton. He previously served two stints as the A’s rookie-level hitting coach, most recently for seven seasons from 2016-22. The Puerto Rico native has been with the A’s for 29 seasons, serving as an instructor, manager, and scout. Noah Huff enters 2024 as head athletic trainer for the Lugnuts after previously serving in the same role with Stockton (2023) and the Arizona A’s (2022) and spending the two seasons prior to that as head athletic trainer at the A’s Dominican complex. Jonathan Christensen joins the Athletics as sports performance coach for Lansing. He previously worked as an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Boston Red Sox in 2022 and the Milwaukee Brewers in 2023.
Stockton Ports (Single-A)
Manager: Javier Godard
Pitching Coach: Gabriel Ozuna
Hitting Coach: Ron Witmeyer
Asst. Hitting Coach: Luis Baez
Javier Godard takes on the role of manager of Stockton after spending last season as hitting coach for Midland. Prior to that, he spent two seasons in the same role with Lansing. The infielder played in 224 games in the A’s organization before joining the Stockton coaching staff in 2019. Gabriel Ozuna enters the second season as pitching coach for the Ports after spending the previous eight seasons in the same role with the Arizona A’s. He spent his first seven seasons in the organization as the pitching coach for Oakland’s Dominican Summer League club. Ron Witmeyer joins the Stockton staff as hitting coach, a role he held with Lansing in 2023. Luis Baez enters his second season in the A’s organization and will serve as assistant hitting coach for the Ports, a role he held with Lansing last year. Audyanna Merrick takes on the role of head athletic trainer for the Ports in her fourth year with the A’s organization. Her previous three seasons were spent with the Arizona A’s, serving as athletic trainer in 2023 after spending 2021-22 as assistant athletic trainer. Prior to that, she was an assistant athletic trainer for Grand Canyon University for the baseball and men’s volleyball teams. Nathaniel Penaranda rounds out the Stockton staff in his second straight season as sport performance coach after spending two seasons in the same role with the Arizona A’s. He previously served three years as a sports performance specialist for Grand Canyon University, where he oversaw strength and conditioning for three varsity sports.
ACL A’s (Rookie)
Manager: Tim Esmay
Pitching Coach: Jim Gott
Asst. Pitching Coach: Dave Burba
Hitting Coach: Adam Rosales
Hitting Coach: Radhame Perez
Hitting Coach: Mike Benjamin
Tim Esmay takes on the role of manager for the Arizona A’s after serving as a hitting coach last season. Jim Gott joins as pitching coach after serving as a pitching coach for the DSL A’s in 2023. Dave Burba will serve as assistant pitching coach after spending 13 seasons as a pitching coach at various levels of the Colorado Rockies organization, most recently as pitching coach for the ACL Rockies. After three seasons at the helm, Adam Rosales will serve as a hitting coach for the Arizona Athletics. The former Major Leaguer played 15 seasons of affiliated ball, including two stints with the Athletics (2010-13, 2017) before joining the A’s as a coach in 2020. In addition, Radhame Perez will return in his role as hitting coach and will be joined by Mike Benjamin. Prior to this, Benjamin managed and coached at multiple levels in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization from 2015-20. He also coached under Tim Esmay at Arizona State University from 2010-14. Franklin Font returns in the role of infield coach for the A’s after managing at Stockton in 2022. He previously spent 20 seasons in various coaching roles with the Chicago Cubs organization. From 2013-20, he served as a Major League staff assistant following a one-year stint as assistant hitting coach with the Major League team. Rachel Purcell enters her second season with the Arizona A’s, serving as an athletic trainer after spending last year as assistant athletic trainer. Prior to that, she spent two seasons in the Texas Rangers organization. She will be joined as athletic trainer by Rakhoon “RK” Sung. Sung joins the ACL A’s after beginning his career in professional baseball as an intern athletic trainer with Triple-A Rochester in the Washington Nationals organization in 2023. Haley Marquardt joins the Arizona A’s as sport performance coach after spending last season with the team’s Dominican Summer League affiliate. Curtis Caldwell joins the Arizona A’s as assistant sport performance coach. He previously completed a sport performance internship at Wake Forest University.
DSL A’s (Rookie)
Manager: Cooper Goldby
Pitching Coach: David Brito
Hitting Coach: Gunnar Buhner
Hitting Coach: Jose Vicente
Cooper Goldby returns for his second season as manager of the Dominican Summer League Athletics. David Brito will return as pitching coach, and Gunnar Buhner and Jose Vicente will return as hitting coaches. Carlos Casimiro returns as infield coach, and Rafael Fortunato will be the outfield coach for the second straight season. Daniel Hernandez joins the Dominican A’s as athletic trainer, with Mario Clime taking on the role of assistant trainer. Andres Tarazona will serve as sport performance coach, and Tomy Arias will serve as assistant sport performance coach.
Director of Player Development: Ed Sprague
Special Assistant: Grady Fuson
Minor League Pitching Coordinator: Gil Patterson
Minor League Asst. Pitching Coordinator: Craig Lefferts
Minor League Pitching Rehab Coordinator: Rick Rodriguez
Minor League Asst. Pitching Rehab Coordinator: Steve Connelly
Minor League Pitching Performance Coach: Mike McFerran
Minor League Hitting Coordinator: Jim Eppard
Minor League Asst. Hitting Coordinator: Todd Takayoshi
Minor League Hitting Development Coach: Lloyd Turner
Minor League Outfield & Baserunning Coordinator: Steve Scarsone
Minor League Infield Coordinator: Juan Navarrete
Minor League Catching Coordinator: Gabriel Ortiz
Ed Sprague enters his ninth season with the A’s and his fifth season as Director of Player Development. The former infielder’s time with the A’s also includes stints as the Assistant Director of Player Development and Coordinator of On-field Analytics, Coordinator of Instruction, and roving instructor. Grady Fuson, former Oakland A’s Scouting Director, will return for his 15th season as Special Assistant to the General Manager. He has spent 33 seasons in the Athletics organization, including seven years as Scouting Director from 1995-2001. Gil Patterson returns for his 20th season in the A’s organization, including his ninth straight season as the A’s Minor League Pitching Coordinator. Patterson is in his third stint with the organization after spending the previous three seasons in a similar role with the New York Yankees (2013-15). He has held the post for the A’s on three separate occasions in 1996 and from 2008-12. Patterson originally joined the Oakland organization in 1991, coaching for the Arizona Rookie League in Scottsdale. He coached for the A’s Single-A affiliate in Madison from 1992-93, Single-A West Michigan in 1994, and the Rookie League Scottsdale A’s in 1995 before his first stint as roving minor league pitching instructor in 1996. Craig Lefferts enters his second season as the Minor League Assistant Pitching Coordinator after spending eight seasons as Minor League Pitching Rehab Coordinator. Prior to that, he served 12 years as a pitching coach in Oakland’s minor league system. Rick Rodriguez enters his second season as Minor League Pitching Rehab Coordinator after serving as Assistant Pitching Rehab Coordinator in 2022. He previously spent six straight seasons overseeing the pitching staff of the A’s Triple-A squad as part of four stints as the pitching coach for the A’s top affiliate (2000-02, 2004-10, 2013-14, 2016-21). Steve Connelly will return as Minor League Assistant Pitching Rehab Coordinator after a one-year stint as pitching coach for Las Vegas in 2022. He spent the previous four seasons in Midland. Connelly joined the A’s organization in 2014 and has served as a pitching coach across the A’s minor league system (Vermont, 2014; Beloit, 2015; Stockton, 2016-17; Midland, 2018-21). Mike McFerran joins the A’s as Pitching Performance Coach. He served as the Pitching Lab Coordinator and Director of Player Development at Wake Forest University from 2021-23, and prior to that, he was the Associate Head Coach, Pitching Coach, and Recruiting Coordinator at Skidmore College from 2017-20. Jim Eppard will enter his ninth season as the Minor League Hitting Coordinator. Prior to joining the A’s in 2016, he spent two seasons as the Los Angeles Angels Assistant Hitting Coordinator. Todd Takayoshi will take on the role of Minor League Assistant Hitting Coordinator after serving as the Aviators assistant hitting coach in 2023 and the RockHounds hitting coach in 2022, his first year with the A’s organization. He previously spent time as a hitting coach in the Reds and Angels organizations and served as assistant minor league hitting coordinator with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2013-15. Lloyd Turner enters his 12th season with the organization, his second as Hitting Development Coach. He previously held the positions of Hitting Technology Coach in 2022 and Arizona A’s hitting coach in 2021. Before managing Beloit in 2019, Turner served as a minor league hitting coach for six seasons (Vermont, 2013, 2016-18 and Beloit, 2014-15). Steve Scarsone enters his fifth season as Minor League Outfield and Baserunning Coordinator and his third as Arizona Field Coordinator, organizing all Arizona-based programs. He previously was a minor league roving infield and baserunning instructor in 2019. The former Major Leaguer has been with the organization since 2009, serving as a minor league manager from 2009-16. In 2016, he was awarded with the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year Award after leading the team to a league-best 83-59 mark. Juan Navarrete will begin his fifth season as the Minor League Infield Coordinator after spending the previous three seasons as the Minor League Defensive Coordinator. Navarrete has served the A’s development staff for over 29 seasons in various roles after a playing career that spanned 21 seasons. In 1998, Navarrete was inducted into the Mexican League Baseball Hall of Fame. Gabriel Ortiz will serve as Minor League Catching Coordinator for the fifth straight season. He spent the 2019 season as a minor league catching instructor as well as a coach with the Arizona League Athletics. The former A’s minor league catcher has been with the organization since 2014.
(Information provided by A’s Media Relations)
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