ST. LOUIS, MO., January 6, 2020 –The St. Louis Cardinals announced today their 2020 minor league coaching staffs for their affiliate teams in addition to their player development and medical personnel for the upcoming season.
The Cardinals announced that seven of their minor league managers will return to their same posts in 2020. In addition, there will be four new pitching coach assignments and new hitting coach assignment at each of their affiliate clubs.
Ben Johnson returns for his second season as manager at Memphis, as does Joe Kruzel at Springfield (AA). Also returning as managers in 2020 are Dan Bilardello (Palm Beach-A), Erick Almonte (Peoria-A), Jose Leon (State College-A), Roberto Espinoza with the defending Appalachian League Champion Johnson City Cardinals (Rookie) and Fray Peniche (DSL Blue). Joe Hawkins will be entering his first season as the manager for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals (Rookie) and Estuar Ruiz has been tabbed to manage the DSL Red team in 2020.
Chris Swauger has been promoted to the Field Coordinator position following the retirement of long-time Cardinals coordinator Mark DeJohn. The team’s new Minor League Hitting Coordinator for 2020 is Russ Steinhorn. Former Cardinals Jose Oquendo, Jason Isringhausen, Braden Looper, Ryan Ludwick, Orlando Palmeiro, Bernard Gilkey and Dean Kiekhefer hold a number of positions within the team’s minor league and player development staff.
The following is a complete listing of the Cardinals 2020 Minor League Staffs and Player Development assignments:
Club Manager Pitching Coach Hitting Coach
Memphis (AAA) Ben Johnson* Dernier Orozco* Brandon Allen^
Springfield (AA) Joe Kruzel* Darwin Marrero* Tyger Pederson^
Palm Beach (A) Dann Bilardello* Rick Harig^ Brian Burgamy^
Peoria (A) Erick Almonte* Adrian Martin^ Cody Gabella^
State College (A) Jose Leon* Dean Kiekhefer Jason Broussard
Johnson City (R) Roberto Espinoza* Renee Cortez^ Daniel Nicolaisen
GCL Cardinals (R) Joe Hawkins^ Giovanni Carrara* Tyler Wolfe & Bernard Gilkey
DSL Blue Fray Peniche* Bill Villanueva* BJ Roper-Hubbert
DSL Red Estuar Ruiz TBA Ismael Castro & Luis Cruz
2020 Cardinals Minor League Field Instructors & Medical Staff
Field Coordinator – Chris Swauger^
Senior Minor League Pitching Coordinator – Tim Leveque*
Minor League Hitting Coordinator – Russ Steinhorn
Minor League Roving Pitching Instructor – Randy Niemann*
Minor League Roving Pitching Instructor – Jason Isringhausen
Minor League Infield Instructor – Johnny Rodriguez*
Minor League Instructor – Jose Oquendo*
Dominican Rep. Academy Coordinator – Jose Leger*
Pitching Analyst – Cale Johnson^
Special Advisor to Player Development – Barry Weinberg
Cardinals Core Coach – Braden Looper
Minor League Roving Hitting Inst./Cardinals Core – Ryan Ludwick
Cardinals Core Coach – Orlando Palmeiro
Player Development Medical Coordinator – Keith Joint
Player Development Strength & Conditioning Coordinator – Aaron Rhodes
Player Development Rehab Coordinator – Matt Leonard
Player Development Performance Specialist – DC MacLea
Player Development Rehab Coordinator Assistant – Victor Kuri
Trainers & Strength Coaches:
Memphis – Dan Martin & Frank Witkowski; Springfield – Chris Whitman & Dan Vega; Palm Beach – Alex Wolfinger & Ross Hasegawa; Peoria – Chris Walsh & Kyle Richter; State College – Joe Olsiewicz & Don Trapp; Johnson City – Justin Wilson & Jacqueline Gover; GCL Cardinals – Paden Eveland & Cory Ritter; DSL Blue – Kiomy Martinez & Chris Latimer; DSL Red –Luis Polanco.
*-Returning Manager/Coach
^-Returning Manager/Coach with new assignment