Athletics announce player development staff for 2020
Oakland, Calif. -- The Oakland A’s announce promotions in player development department and minor league coaching staffs, including the hiring of former A’s Major Leaguer Adam Rosales and the promotion of Bobby Crosby to manager of the Stockton Ports.
Ed Sprague was promoted to Director of Player Development from Assistant Director of Player Development and Coordinator of On-Field Analytics. The former infielder is entering his fifth season with the A’s, which also includes two as the coordinator of instruction and one as a roving instructor in 2016.
Keith Lieppman transitioned to Special Advisor to Player Development in his 50th season with the Oakland Athletics.
Grady Fuson, former Oakland A’s scouting director, will return for his 11th season as Special Assistant to the General Manager. He has spent 29 seasons in the Athletics organization, including seven years as scouting director from 1995-2001.
Gil Patterson returns for his 16th season in the A’s organization, including his fifth 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 2008-2012. 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.
Jim Eppard will enter his fifth 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.
Juan Navarrete will be the minor league infield coordinator after spending three seasons as the minor league defensive coordinator. Navarrete has served the A’s development staff for over 25 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.
Steve Scarsone will transition to minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator after serving as minor league roving infield and baserunning instructor last season. The former Major Leaguer has been with the organization since 2009, serving as a minor league manager from 2009 through 2016. 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.
Gabe Ortiz has been promoted to minor league catching coordinator. He spent last season as 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.
Aaron Nieckula has been promoted to Arizona field coordinator after serving as the A’s minor league field coordinator last year as well as managing the Vermont Lake Monsters for five straight seasons. He has been with the organization since 2004, managing 14 seasons and posting a 791-839 record during that span.
Raymond Abreu returns as the director of Latin America operations, having been with the Athletics for over 25 years. The New Jersey native resides in the Dominican Republic year-round, where he also serves as the general manager of the Toros del Este of the Dominican Winter League.
Eddie Menchaca enters his third season in the organization and his second as the A’s supervisor of Latin America player development. Menchaca joined the A’s in 2018 and served as the manager of the Arizona League A’s, a role in which he will continue in 2020.
Casey Upperman joins the Athletics as throwing performance coach. In this role, the Arizona native will assist with the development and implementation of throwing programs for pitchers and position players to enhance their performance, health and throwing velocity.
Nate Brooks returns as the minor league medical coordinator for his fourth season after serving the A’s as minor league rehab coordinator the prior four seasons.
Travis Tims enters his fourth season as the minor league rehab coordinator. Tims has been with the organization since 2008 and spent nine seasons in the A’s system as an athletic trainer.
Craig Lefferts will return as the A’s minor league pitching rehab coordinator. Lefferts enters his sixth season in the role after spending 12 seasons as a pitching coach in Oakland’s minor league system.
AJ Seeliger will return as the minor league strength and conditioning coordinator. The Nevada native has been with the organization for eight years.
Omar Hamed has been promoted to assistant minor league strength and conditioning coordinator after serving as the strength and conditioning coach for Midland last season. This will be his seventh season in the A’s organization. The Puerto Rico native spent one season with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization prior to joining the A’s.
Javier Alvidrez returns for his third season as the Latin American medical coordinator. This is his second stint with the organization after serving as an athletic trainer from 2000-07.
JD Howell will be the Latin American strength and conditioning coordinator as he enters his eighth season with the A’s organization.
Ed Gilitz enters his fourth season as the minor league technology and development coordinator. He previously worked as a video intern for the Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks before joining the Athletics.
Las Vegas (Triple-A, Pacific Coast League)
Fran Riordan will be at the helm for his third season with the Triple-A club. Last season, 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. Rick Rodriguez will oversee the pitching staff for the fifth straight season and his fourth overall stint as the pitching coach for the A’s top affiliate (2000-02, 2004-10 and 2013-2014). Todd Steverson will join the Aviators as hitting coach. The former A’s coach spent the past six seasons as the White Sox hitting coach. Hiram Bocachica will serve as a coach for the Las Vegas staff. He is entering his third season with the organization after managing the AZL A’s last season and serving as a traveling instructor in 2018. Brad LaRosa returns for his 13th season as athletic trainer for the A’s top minor league affiliate after being named PCL Athletic Trainer of the year. Prior to joining the A’s, he worked five seasons as an athletic trainer at the Double-A level (three years with St. Louis and two years with Florida). Justin Whitehouse has been promoted to assistant athletic trainer for Las Vegas after spending the previous 12 seasons as the Midland athletic trainer. He has been with the organization for 20 seasons and was named athletic trainer of the year in 2007. Matt Rutledge rounds out the staff as the strength and conditioning coach after serving as assistant minor league strength and conditioning coordinator. This will be his first season in the role and his sixth overall with the team.
Midland (Double-A, Texas League)
Scott Steinmann enters his third season as Midland’s manager after spending 2017 with the Beloit Snappers. Prior to joining the A’s organization, he worked 17 seasons as a coach or manager in the Seattle organization. Steve Connelly returns for his third year as the RockHounds’ pitching coach. Connelly joined the A’s organization in 2014 and served as a pitching coach across the A’s minor league system (Vermont, 2014; Beloit, 2015; Stockton, 2016-2017). Tommy Everidge returns for his third season as the hitting coach for Midland. He began his coaching career in 2014 after playing in the A’s system for six years. Juan Dilone will serve as a coach for the Midland staff. He previously spent four seasons as the hitting coach for Beloit after spending the previous seven years in the same role with rookie-level Arizona. Shane Zdebiak will be Midland’s athletic trainer after spending three seasons as Stockton’s athletic trainer and two seasons with Beloit. Before joining the A’s, he worked for the Mariners from 2014-2015. Matt Mosiman will serve as the strength and conditioning coach after spending two seasons with Stockton and four overall with the organization.
Stockton (Advanced-A, California League)
Former Major Leaguer Bobby Crosby will begin his managerial career with Stockton after serving as coach for Midland in 2019. The infielder played in the Major Leagues for eight seasons, winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2004 for the Oakland A’s. Chris Smith will return for his second season as the Stockton pitching coach. The former Major Leaguer appeared in 77 games, going 1-4 with a 5.71 ERA. He finished his playing career in 2017 with the Oakland A’s. Brian McArn returns for his third season as the Ports hitting coach. McArn has been with the organization for 22 years and has spent three different stints with the Ports (2011-2012, 2014-2015). Javier Herrera enters his second year as a coach after spending last season with rookie-level Arizona. He previously spent parts of 15 seasons playing minor and independent league baseball. Nick Voelker comes to Stockton from rookie-level Arizona after serving a season in the Dominican Summer League. The Dominican Summer League Athletic Trainer of the Year has been with the A’s for three seasons. Rounding out the staff is Henry Torres as the strength and conditioning coach. Torres will enter his seventh season in the Oakland A’s organization as minor league strength coach.
Beloit (Single-A, Midwest League)
Lloyd Turner enters his eighth season with the Oakland A’s organization and his second as a minor league manager. Prior to joining Beloit, Lloyd served as the minor league hitting coach for six seasons (Vermont, 2013, 2016-2018 and Beloit, 2014-2015). Don Schulze returns to Beloit for his third season as the pitching coach and his 15th overall in the Oakland A’s system. Javier Godard will serve as hitting coach for Beloit after coaching for Stockton last season. The infielder played in 224 games in the A’s organization before joining the Stockton coaching staff in 2019. Craig Conklin will serve as a coach to the Beloit staff after spending last season with Las Vegas. Conklin has been with the A’s for five years and worked for the MLB Scouting Bureau prior to joining the A’s. Brian Thorson will return as the Snappers athletic trainer. He has been with the A’s organization for 37 years and his eighth overall with Beloit. Kevin Guild will be the Snappers strength and conditioning coach after spending two seasons in the same role for Vermont.
Vermont (Short-A, New York-Penn League)
Rick Magnante will serve as manager of Vermont after spending last season as supervisor of player development. The 2018 California League Manager of the Year has been with the organization since 2006, serving as a lower affiliate manager for 12 seasons (Vancouver, 2006-10; Vermont, 2011-13; Beloit, 2014; Stockton, 2015-18). Carlos Chavez will lead the pitching staff for the third straight season. This will be his eighth season with the A’s organization and his second stint with Vermont (2015-2016). Francisco Santana will be the hitting coach after serving in the same role for rookie-level Arizona last season. He previously served as a coach in the Dominican Republic. Anthony Phillips will serve as a coach on the Lake Monsters staff after coaching for Beloit in 2019. The former infielder was a member of the 2009 South Africa team that participated in the World Baseball Classic. Toshiaki Nagahara will enter his eighth season as the athletic trainer for Vermont after serving the prior two seasons with the AZL A’s. Connor Hughes will round out the staff as strength and conditioning coach.
Arizona League Athletics (Rookie-level, Arizona League)
The A’s two Arizona League teams will be managed by Webster Garrison and Eddie Menchaca. Garrison enters his 22nd season with the A’s organization as a minor league coach or manager after serving as the manager for Stockton in 2019. Menchaca enters his third season with the A’s after spending the previous nine years in the Mariners organization. Bryan Corey and Gabriel Ozuna will return as the pitching coaches for the AZL A’s. Corey has been with the organization for four seasons, serving in the same capacity for Vermont (2017) and Stockton (2018). Ozuna is entering his sixth season as the pitching coach of the Arizona A’s after spending his first seven seasons in the organization as the pitching coach for Oakland’s Dominican Summer League. Ruben Escalera and Kevin Kouzmanoff will be the hitting coaches for the A’s. Escalera enters his fifth season of his second stint as the Rookie A’s hitting coach. The Puerto Rico native has been with the A’s for 26 seasons, serving as an instructor, manager and scout. Kouzmanoff is in his second year with the organization after spending last season as hitting coach for Vermont. Adam Rosales will serve as a coach for the AZL squads. The former Major Leaguer is making his coaching debut after playing 15 seasons of affiliated ball, including two stints with the Athletics (2010-11, 2017). Chris Lessner and Jake Routhier will serve as the athletic trainers. Lessner enters his 27th season with the A’s organization, and Routhier spent last season with the organization in the Dominican Republic. Scott Smith will round out the staff as the strength and conditioning coach after spending two seasons in the role with Beloit. Prior to joining the A’s, Scott spent some time with the Phillies, Marlins and Padres.