Cubs announce minor league managers, coaches and coordinators

In 2020, we did not have a minor league baseball season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Teams are making plans for a 2021 minor league season, though there are still no official dates for it to start.

Monday, the Cubs announced the men who will be managers, coaches and coordinators throughout the revamped Cubs system, which will include four recently-announced affiliates at Iowa, Tennessee, South Bend and Myrtle Beach, as well as a Rookie League team that will play at the Sloan Park complex in Mesa, Arizona. There will also be a Cubs-affiliated team in the Dominican Summer League.

Here are the managers, with brief bios for each one.

Marty Pevey returns for his 13th season in the organization and his ninth as manager of the Iowa Cubs. He brings with over 30 years of professional experience, beginning with 13 years as a player. In 2019, he guided the Iowa Cubs to their first postseason appearance since 2008, and his 479 regular season managerial victories with Iowa are a franchise record.

Mark Johnson enters his 11th year in the Cubs system and returns to manage the Tennessee Smokies after doing so from 2016-18. Johnson, who will also serve as minor league catching coordinator for the third straight year, has eight seasons as a minor league manager. He earned a Midwest League title with Single-A Kane County in 2014 and a Carolina League title with Single-A Myrtle Beach in 2015.

Michael Ryan will manage the South Bend Cubs after joining the organization as Tennessee’s manager in 2020. Prior to that, he spent seven seasons as a manager in the Pirates chain, including 2017-19 at the helm of Double-A Altoona.

Buddy Bailey will return to manage the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and is in his 33rd season as a minor league manager. He managed Single-A South Bend in 2019 following three campaigns as manager for Myrtle Beach from 2016-18. Bailey owns 2,140 regular season victories, and in 2017 became just the 11th minor league manager to reach the 2,000-win plateau.

Lance Rymel is in his sixth season as a coach or manager in the Cubs organization and will guide the Arizona Rookie League Mesa Cubs team. He managed Single-A Eugene in 2019 following two seasons at the helm of the Cubs Dominican Summer League squad in 2017-18. He hae a three-year minor league playing career as a catcher in the Cubs chain from 2012-14.

Carlos Ramírez enters his third season as a manager for the Cubs Dominican Summer League team, and his sixth season as a coach or manager in the organization. He was a coach for the Dominican League club from 2016-18 following three seasons as a catcher in the system from 2012-14.

Here are all the coaches for the Cubs affiliated teams:

Here are all the 2021 coordinators throughout the Cubs minor league system. One manager listed above (Mark Johnson) will also serve as minor-league catching coordinator.

Jeremy Farrell returns for his sixth season with the organization and his second as assistant director, baseball development. Farrell will also handle minor league infield coordinator duties, a position he had in 2018 before being named field coordinator in 2019.

Dustin Kelly joins the organization as minor league hitting coordinator after three seasons as a hitting coach in the Dodgers farm system from 2018-20. The last two seasons he was hitting coach for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

Casey Jacobson starts his second season as the organization’s coordinator of pitching development. He is a former instructor at Driveline Baseball in Kent, Wash., and in 2019 was an assistant coach at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D.

James Ogden begins his second season as the organization’s coordinator of pitching performance. He had a seven-year tenure as pitching coach for Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn., where he helped the team to the 2015 Atlantic Sun championship.

Doug Dascenzo is in his seventh year as the organization’s minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator, bringing with 22 years of coaching experience. He played parts of seven seasons in the majors, including five with the Cubs (1988-92).

Dave Keller begins his 18th year in the organization and his seventh as minor league Latin America field coordinator. He brings over 35 years of minor league coaching and managerial experience, and managed three clubs to championship series appearances, including a Florida State League title with Single-A Daytona in 2013.

Tom Beyers starts his 22nd season in the Cubs organization and his seventh as assistant coordinator, hitting. He joined Chicago in 2000 following 21 seasons in the Dodgers minor league system as a player, coach and manager.

Steven Pollakov starts his second season as assistant coordinator, Dominican hitting analytics. He served as a hitting apprentice in the Houston Astros farm system in 2019, integrating technology and biometrics into hitting programs. Pollakov is a graduate of Buffalo Grove High School.

Mike Mason is in his 14th year in the system and his first as advisor to pitching development following two seasons as assistant coordinator, pitching. He brings with over 25 years of coaching experience and served as Triple-A Iowa’s pitching coach from 2008-13.

Carlos Chantres is in his third season with the organization, and his second as assistant coordinator, pitching. The 2021 season will be his 16th as a coach, coordinator, or special assistant.

Josh Zeid is in his third season as pitching coach/rehab pitching coordinator following a nine-year pitching career that included 48 major league relief appearances with Houston in 2013-14.

David Da Silva starts his fourth year as mental skills coordinator after nine years as a mental conditioning consultant for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Javier Guerrero is in his second season as mental skills coordinator and his seventh season in the organization. He spent 2018-19 as a minor league mental skills assistant following three seasons as a Dominican Republic video operations assistant.

Cory Kennedy continues as head of strength and conditioning and performance science for a second season. He earned his degree in Physical Education and Health at the University of Toronto.

Mike McNulty is in his eighth year with the Cubs and his second as minor league medical coordinator after two seasons as assistant athletic trainer for Triple-A Iowa.

James Edwards begins his first season as minor league assistant medical coordinator and his fifth in the Cubs organization. Last year, he served as the athletic trainer for the Double-A Tennessee Smokies.

Julia Long is in her second year as the head of sports nutrition and dietetic services, and in her seventh year overall with the Cubs. In this role, she supports players by educating them to use food as a strategy by providing the best food possible, along with training and physical support. Long earned a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from Arizona State University in 2015.