Cubs announce 2017 Minor League Managers and Staff
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Cubs announce 2017 Minor League Managers and Staff


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CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today announced their minor league managers and coaching staffs for the 2017 season.

Managers/staff returning to the organization but assigned to new positions next year are listed below in bold, while managers/staff new to the organization are listed in bold italics. More information on the returning members of the Cubs organization can be found on pages 208-230 of the Chicago Cubs 2016 Media Guide.

Marty Pevey begins his fifth season as Triple-A Iowa’s manager after serving as Chicago’s catching coordinator for three seasons from 2010-12. Pevey served as the Single-A Peoria manager in 2009, his first season with the organization. Pevey has a combined 33 years of professional experience (13 years as a player and 20 years as a manager, coach or coordinator), and was named the 2009 Midwest League co-Manager of the Year. Joining Pevey at Iowa will be Rod Nichols, who begins his second season as the team’s pitching coach after three years (2013-15) as the Philadelphia Phillies major league bullpen coach. The 2017 campaign will mark Nichols’ 18th as a coach. Originally selected by Cleveland in the fifth round of the 1985 draft, he appeared in seven big league seasons, going 11-31 with a 4.43 ERA (203 ER/412.2 IP) in 100 games (48 starts). Desi Wilson and Mariano Duncan will share hitting coach duties for Iowa. Wilson joins Iowa in his 10th season with the organization. He was Double-A Tennessee’s hitting coach the previous four seasons. Duncan joins the I-Cubs following four years as Chicago’s high-A hitting coach. The 12-year major league veteran (1985-87, 1989-97) joined the Cubs in 2011 after spending the previous five seasons (2006-10) as the Dodgers major league first base coach. Shane Nelson is in his second season as Iowa’s athletic trainer while Jon Fierro is in his sixth season with the Cubs, his first as assistant athletic trainer with Iowa. Ryan Clausen enters his fourth season as the team’s strength and conditioning coach.

Mark Johnson begins his second season as Tennessee’s manager, and his seventh in the Cubs organization. Johnson’s teams have reached the postseason in four of his first six minor league managerial seasons, including a Midwest League title with Single-A Kane County in 2014 and a Mills Cup Championship with Single-A Myrtle Beach in 2015. Terry Clark begins his second season as Tennessee’s pitching coach after spending the 2014-15 seasons as the minor league pitching coordinator for the Seattle Mariners. Clark appeared in parts of six big league seasons, going 10-23 with one save and a 5.54 ERA (143 ER/232.2 IP) in 91 games. Jacob Cruz joins the organization as Tennessee’s hitting coach, after six years as a minor league hitting coach in Arizona’s farm system. Cruz, an outfielder, played nine major league seasons from 1996-2005 and hit .241 with 19 homers and 105 RBI in 409 games. Ricardo Medina begins his 19th season in the Cubs organization and his first as Tennessee’s assistant coach after serving in the same role last season for Single-A South Bend. Mike McNulty is in his fourth year as a trainer in the Cubs system, his first with Tennessee, while Mike Megrew is in his fourth season as the team’s strength and conditioning coach.

Buddy Bailey begins his second season as manager of Myrtle Beach, having led the team to its season-straight Mills Cup title last year. Bailey enters his 29th year as a manger and his 12th with the organization. Prior to Myrtle Beach, he guided Single-A Daytona (2006, 2009-11), Iowa (2007) and Tennessee (2008, 2012-15). Anderson Tavarez will handle the team’s pitching coach duties for the season-straight season. He served as Single-A Eugene’s pitching coach in 2015 after two seasons with Rookie League Mesa. Tavarez played in the Cubs system from 2000-05 and worked as a pitching coach with the Cubs Dominican Summer League team from 2007-12. Guillermo Martinez begins his fourth season as a coach in Chicago’s organization and first as a hitting coach with Myrtle Beach. He spent last season as Single-A South Bend’s hitting coach. Ty Wright, who spent seven years as an outfielder in the Cubs minor league system, is the team’s assistant coach after serving as Single-A Eugene’s hitting coach last season. Toby Williams begins his fourth year as a trainer in the Cubs organization and his second with Myrtle Beach. Jason Morriss enters his fifth season in the organization, third with Myrtle Beach, as a strength and conditioning coach.

Jimmy Gonzalez begins his fourth season as a manager in the organization, his third with South Bend. Gonzalez made his managerial debut in 2014 with Rookie League Mesa after serving as hitting coach with the club in 2013. A former catcher, he played 14 minor league seasons after he was selected in the first round of the 1991 Draft by Houston. Brian Lawrence joins South Bend as the team’s pitching coach, having served in the same role last year at Eugene. Lawrence made his coaching debut in 2012 in the Independent Frontier League after the former righthander went 50-63 with a 4.19 ERA during a six-year big league career with the Padres and Mets. Jeremy Farrell joins the team as hitting coach after handling the same duty with Mesa last season. Farrell, the son of Red Sox manager John Farrell, joined the Cubs prior to last season following an eight-year minor league playing career. Jonathan Mota is the club’s assistant coach, his second season as a coach in the organization following 11 seasons as an infielder in the Cubs farm system. Logan Severson joins South Bend as the team’s athletic trainer, his second in the organization after serving as Eugene’s athletic trainer last season. Ryan Nordtvedt enters his fifth season in the organization and his first as South Bend’s strength and conditioning coach.

Jesus Feliciano begins his fourth season in the Cubs organization and his second as manager for Eugene after leading the team to the Northwest League title last year. He enjoyed a 16-year playing career from 1998-2013, including action in 54 games with the Mets in 2010. David Rosario joins Eugene as the team’s pitching coach in his 13th year in the Cubs system. Rosario had the same role for South Bend last year. Juan Cabreja is the team’s hitting coach after serving as an assistant coach for Myrtle Beach last year. He is in his 14th year with the Cubs organization. Gary Van Tol will serve as a coach for the second-straight year after spending the previous three seasons as the organization’s low-A manager. James Edwards joins the Cubs organization as the club’s athletic trainer after he served as an athletic training intern for Mesa last year.

Carmelo Martinez begins his 20th season in the Cubs organization, and returns to manage Rookie League Mesa for the third-straight year. The club has reached the Arizona League playoffs each of the last two seasons. Martinez is a former outfielder/first baseman who played in the majors from 1983-91, seeing action with the Cubs in 1983. Armando Gabino joins Mesa as the club’s pitching coach following two seasons as a Dominican Summer League pitching coach for the Cubs. This follows an 11-year playing career including two stints in the majors with Minnesota (2009) and Baltimore (2010). Osmin Melendez, in his fifth season with the organization, is Mesa’s hitting coach. Last season, he was an assistant coach with Tennessee. Leo Perez begins his ninth year as a coach in Chicago’s organization and his first as Mesa’s assistant coach. Perez played in the Cubs farm system from 2003-08. Ben Carhart is the club’s rehab coach following a five-year playing career in the Cubs system. The former infielder was selected by Chicago in the 35th round of the 2012 draft. Sean Folan will serve as the club’s athletic trainer after handling assistant trainer duties in Iowa last year.

Lance Rymel is the manager of the first of the Cubs two Dominican Summer League teams after he served as Mesa’s rehab coach in 2016. He is a former catcher selected by the Cubs in the 28th round of the 2012 Draft. Jose Cueto, who spent four seasons in the Cubs farm system from 1999-2001 and 2004, is in his second season as pitching coach. Claudio Almonte, in his third year in the organization, is the team’s hitting coach after serving as the squad’s manager last year. Carlos Ramirez and Antonio Valerio are coaches for the Dominican squad for the second-straight year while Yovanny Rosario returns for his third full season as the team’s assistant hitting coach. Adrian Pettaway is new to the organization, serving as the team’s athletic trainer, while Amaury Gonzalez is the team’s strength coach for the second-consecutive season.

Pedro Gonzalez will manage the second Dominican League club for the season-straight year after managing the Venezuela Cubs the previous two campaigns. Eduardo Villacis is a pitching coach for the DSL Cubs for the second-consecutive season after holding the same role with the Venezuela Cubs in 2015. Carlos Rojas is the team’s infield coach for the second-straight season. He enjoyed a 10-year minor league career as an infielder from 2003-12, including 2003-07 in the Cubs farm system. Arnoldo Goite begins his fourth year in the organization and his second as an athletic trainer for the Dominican club. Manny Estrada enters his third full season as a strength and conditioning coach in the organization.

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