Cubs announce minor league team staffs, coordinators

Regardless of what happens with the MLB labor dispute, the 2022 minor league seasons will begin as scheduled in early April.

Monday, the Cubs announced the staffs for their affiliated teams: the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, Double-A Tennessee Smokies, High-A South Bend Cubs, Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Rookie League Mesa and the Dominican Summer League Cubs.

Here they are!

Marty Pevey returns for his 10th season as manager of the Iowa Cubs, becoming the longest-tenured manager in franchise history, while his 530 victories are a franchise record. Entering his 14th season in the organization, he has over 30 years of professional experience.

Michael Ryan will begin his first year with the Tennessee Smokies after managing South Bend to a 52-67 record in 2021. Prior to that, he spent seven seasons as a manager in the Pirates chain, including 2017-19 at the helm of Double-A Altoona.

Lance Rymel will manage the South Bend Cubs for the first time after guiding the Rookie League Mesa Cubs in 2021. This is his seventh season as a coach or manager in the Cubs organization, where he also managed Single-A Eugene in 2019 following two seasons at the helm of the Cubs Dominican Summer League squad in 2017-18.

Buddy Bailey will return to manage the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and is in his 34th season as a minor league manager. Bailey owns 2,202 regular season victories, the most among active minor league managers. His clubs have reached postseason play eight times, including three of the last five seasons dating to 2016.

Edgar Pérez begins his first season in the Cubs organization and will guide the Rookie League Mesa Cubs. He brings with him more than 25 years in scouting and coaching since he started out as a scout with Cleveland in 1997.

Carlos Ramírez enters his fourth season as a manager for the Cubs Dominican Summer League team, and his seventh 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.

Enrique Wilson is in his fifth season with the Cubs Dominican Summer League club and his first as a manager after serving as a hitting coach. He had a nine-year major league playing career with Cleveland (1997-2000), Pittsburgh (2000-01), the Yankees (2001-04) and the Cubs (2005) in which he batted .244 with 22 home runs in 555 games.

Here are the minor league coordinators for the organization in 2022.

Dustin Kelly is in his second season with the organization as minor league hitting coordinator after three campaigns as a hitting coach in the Dodgers farm system from 2018-20.

Casey Jacobson starts his third season as the organization’s coordinator of pitching development. A former instructor at Driveline Baseball in Kent, Wash., Jacobson coached six seasons in the college ranks with Macalester College (pitching coach, 2014-18) in St. Paul, Minn., and Augustana University (assistant coach, 2019) in Sioux Falls, S.D.

James Ogden begins his third 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.

Mark Johnson enters his 12th year in the Cubs system and will serve as minor league catching coordinator for the fourth-straight season while also serving as assistant field coordinator. In nine 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 before he guided Double-A Tennessee from 2016-18.

Doug Dascenzo is in his eighth year as the organization’s minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator, bringing with him 23 years of coaching experience. He played parts of seven seasons in the majors, including five with the Cubs (1988-92).

Dave Keller begins his 19th year in the organization and his eighth as minor league Latin America field coordinator. He brings over 35 years of minor league coaching and managerial experience, managing three clubs to championship series appearances, including a Florida State League title with Single-A Daytona in 2013.

Ryan Serena joins the Cubs as minor league infield coordinator coming from Rogue Baseball Performance in Englewood, Colo. The former shortstop played baseball at Lamar (Colo.) Community College and Colorado Christian University.

Tom Beyers starts his 23rd season in the Cubs organization and his eighth 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 is in his third season with the Cubs and this year will serve as assistant hitting coordinator as well as a hitting coach for Low-A Myrtle Beach. He served as a hitting apprentice in the Houston Astros farm system in 2019, integrating technology and biometrics into hitting programs.

Mike Mason is in his 15th year in the system and brings over 25 years of coaching experience. In 2022, he will serve as an advisor to pitching development/reliever coordinator. He was in an advisory role for pitching development last year after he served as assistant coordinator, pitching in 2019-20. Mason played seven major league seasons with Texas (1982-87), the Cubs (1987) and Minnesota (1988), posting a 29-39 record with a 4.53 ERA.

Carlos Chantres is in his fourth season with the organization, and his third as assistant coordinator, pitching. The 2022 season will be his 17th as a coach, coordinator, or special assistant. He spent two years with Atlanta, including as a special assistant to player development in 2018, after stints coaching in the Tigers (2015) and Mariners (2016) chains.

Josh Zeid is in his fourth 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.

Sam Chinitz joins the Cubs as coordinator, player development technology and video. He spent the 2021 season as a video and technology intern with the Boston Red Sox.

Andrew Craig has been named assistant minor league video coordinator/Mesa development coach after serving as a player development associate with the Phillies in 2021 and an affiliate intern with the Rays in 2020.

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

Javier Guerrero is in his third season as mental skills coordinator and his eighth 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.

James Edwards is in his sixth season in the Cubs organization and enters his first as minor league medical coordinator after he was minor league assistant medical coordinator in 2021. He handled athletic trainer duties with Double-A Tennessee (2020), Single-A South Bend (2018-19) and Single-A Eugene (2017), and also served as an intern with the Arizona League Cubs in 2016.

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

Sean Folan begins his eighth season with the Cubs and his first as the minor league assistant medical coordinator. In 2021, he served as a rehab athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach following three seasons as Single-A Eugene’s athletic trainer.

Yimi Rodríguez has been named the organization’s head of minor league nutrition. Rodríguez, a former right-handed pitcher in the Dodgers chain (2010-11), has been the lead sports dietician at the University of Rochester Sports Medicine since 2018

Along with the minor league coordinators, Will Remillard has been named a hitting initiatives coach and George Thanopoulos has been named manager, minor league pitching development. Remillard is in his fourth season as a coach in the Cubs system after six seasons as a catcher in the organization (2013-18). Thanopoulos joined the Cubs as a minor league development coach last season and pitched two seasons in the Rockies system from 2016-17.