Despite producing Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, the Pacific Coast League goes away as part of Major League Baseball’s reorganization of the minor leagues.
An iconic name is lost as minor leagues are reorganized — Las Vegas Review-Journal
BLUE JAYS ANNOUNCE 2021 MINOR LEAGUE APPOINTMENTS
The Toronto Blue Jays today announce the following appointments to the High Performance and Player Development departments for the 2021 campaign.
Field Managers for the upcoming Minor League season will be Casey Candaele (Triple-A Buffalo), Cesar Martin (Double-A New Hampshire), Donnie Murphy (High-A Vancouver), Luis Hurtado (Low-A Dunedin), Brent Lavallee (Gulf Coast), and Dane Fujinaka (Dominican Summer League).
Below is a complete listing of the Blue Jays’ 2021 Player Development and High Performance staffs.
| Buffalo | |
| Casey Candaele | Manager |
| Jeff Ware | Pitching Coach |
| Corey Hart | Hitting Coach |
| Devon White | Position Coach |
| Jake McGuiggan | Development Coach |
| Caleb Daniel | Trainer |
| Justin Batcher | S&C Coach |
| Kat Mangieri | Dietitian |
| John Lannan | MP Coach |
| New Hampshire | |
| Cesar Martin | Manager |
| Jim Czajkowski | Pitching Coach |
| Matt Hague | Hitting Coach |
| Chris Schaeffer | Position Coach |
| Evan Short | Development Coach |
| Luke Greene | Trainer |
| Casey Callison | S&C Coach |
| Kara Terry | Dietitian |
| Rob DiBernardo | MP Coach |
| Vancouver | |
| Donnie Murphy | Manager |
| Antonio Caceres | Pitching Coach |
| Ryan Wright | Hitting Coach |
| Danny Canellas | Position Coach |
| Taylor Hill | Development Coach |
| Brandon Hammerstrom | Trainer |
| Tommy LaBriola | S&C Coach |
| Geoff Stallman | Dietitian |
| Rob DiBernardo | MP Coach |
| Dunedin | |
| Luis Hurtado | Manager |
| Phil Cundari | Pitching Coach |
| Matt Young | Hitting Coach |
| George Carroll | Position Coach |
| Drew Hayes | Development Coach |
| Roelvis Vargas | Trainer |
| Matt Hunter | S&C Coach |
| Lauren Poole | Dietitian |
| Ben Freakley | MP Coach |
| Gulf Coast | |
| Brent Lavallee | Manager |
| Jose Mayorga | Bench Coach |
| Cory Riordan | Pitching Coach |
| Paul Elliott | Hitting Coach |
| Dennis Holmberg | Position Coach |
| Zach Stewart | Development Coach |
| Jon Woodworth | Trainer |
| Taylor Haslinger | S&C Coach |
| Trevor Lomax | Dietitian |
| Matthew Galvez | MP Coach |
| Dominican Summer League | |
| Pablo Cruz | Field Coordinator |
| Dane Fujinaka | Manager |
| Yoel Hernandez | Pitching Coach |
| Andy Fermin | Hitting Coach |
| Petr Stribrcky | Hitting Coach |
| Deiferson Barreto | Position Coach |
| Jose Mateo | Position Coach |
| Alain Pacheco | Trainer |
| Ysidro Reyes | Trainer |
| Imbewer Alvarez | S&C Coach |
| Roswell Del Rosario | Asst. S&C Coach |
| Matthew Galvez | MP Coach |
| Player Development | |
| Gil Kim | Director, Player Development & Major League Coach |
| Charlie Wilson | Director, Minor League Operations |
| Joe Sclafani | Assistant Director, Player Development |
| Casey Candaele | Field Coordinator & Buffalo Manager |
| John Tamargo Jr. | Short-Season Field Coordinator |
| Dallas McPherson | Skill Development Coordinator |
| Hunter Mense | Hitting Coordinator |
| Danny Solano | Infield Coordinator |
| Matt Buschmann | Director, Pitching Development & Major League Bullpen Coach |
| Cory Popham | Pitching Development Coordinator |
| Matt Tracy | Pitching Development Coordinator |
| Will Habib | Coordinator, Player Development & HP Operations |
| Matt Hague | New Hampshire Hitting Coach & Swing Consultant |
| Reed Kienle | Minor League Hitting Analyst |
| Evan Short | Pitching Skills Coach & Strategist |
| Billy Wardlow | Equipment Coordinator |
| Matt von Roemer | Technology Operations Coordinator |
| Tim Raines | Special Assistant to Player Development |
| Sonia De La Cruz | Education Coordinator |
| Michelle Rodgers | Business Manager, Minor League Operations |
| Michael Rivera | Assistant, Player Development |
| David Howell | Complex Pitching Coach |
| Demetre Kokoris | Rehab Pitching Coach |
| Luis Silva | Rehab Position Player Coach |
| High Performance – Dunedin | |
| Angus Mugford | Vice President of High Performance |
| Dehra Harris | Assistant Director of High Performance |
| Andrew Pipkin | Medical Director |
| Brandon Stone | Sports Science Coordinator |
| Scott Peters | Medical Research Coordinator |
| Michael Rendon | Athletic Training Coordinator |
| Phillip Dimino | Rehab Coordinator |
| Jon Woodworth | GCL ATC & Latin American Medical Coordinator |
| Steve Rassel | MiLB S&C Coordinator |
| Kyle Edlhuber | MiLB S&C Rehab Coordinator |
| Aaron Spano | MiLB S&C Asst. Coordinator |
| Ben Freakley | Head of Mental Performance |
| Rob DiBernardo | Mental Performance Coach (New Hampshire & Vancouver) |
| John Lannan | Mental Performance Coach (Buffalo & Dunedin) |
| Matthew Galvez | Mental Performance Coach (GCL & DSL) |
| Jeremy Chiang | Nutrition Coordinator & ML Dietitian |
| Sam Lima | EAP Director |
| Ted Farrar | Florida Physician Coordinator |
| Alex Suerte | Assistant Physical Therapist |
| Reeve Bergesen | High Performance & Player Development Project Manager |
| Clare Padmore | High Performance Analyst |
– BLUE JAYS –
T
Fifteen minor league baseball teams have filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract by insurance providers after being denied claims for business-interruption insurance due to the coronavirus pandemic.
MiLB teams sue insurance providers over denied virus claims — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
Associated PressJun 23, 2020, 4:05 PM EDT
Fifteen minor league baseball teams have filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract by insurance providers after being denied claims for business-interruption insurance due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Major League Baseball announced Monday that it will attempt to play a 60-game regular season, but its minor league clubs – many under threat of losing affiliations amid negotiations with MLB – are unlikely to play until at least 2021.
Minor league franchises said in the suit filed Tuesday that even though they continue to pay yearly premiums to insurance providers for business-interruption insurance, they have been denied coverage after Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred indefinitely suspended their seasons in March.
Minor league teams are mostly small, independently owned businesses, and their model depends on affiliates receiving players, coaches and other team personnel provided by major league clubs.
Government restrictions on mass gatherings are also precluding minor league teams from hosting fans at their ballparks, by far the greatest source of revenues for those franchises. Over 40 million fans attended minor league games involving 176 affiliates last season.
The suit claims teams are stuck with over $2 million in expenses on average, including as much as $1 million in ballpark lease payments, marketing costs, food and beverage supplies, and salaries and benefits for permanent employees.
Teams say providers are citing two reasons for denying claims – because losses are not resulting from direct physical loss or damage to property, or because policies include language excluding coverage for loss or damage caused by viruses.
Teams say the loss of use of their ballparks due to government restrictions on fan gatherings and their inability to obtain players qualifies as physical loss. They allege the latter clause is void because it’s unenforceable and inapplicable.
The likely loss of the 2020 season comes at an already challenging time for the minors. The Professional Baseball Agreement between MLB and minor league team owners is set to expire after this season, and MLB proposed reducing the guarantee minimum of affiliates from 160 to 120.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, names Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co., Acadia Insurance Co., National Casualty Co., Scottsdale Indemnity Co., and Scottsdale Insurance Co. as defendants. Defendants did not immediately responded to requests for comment.
—
Agent Scott Boras will reportedly cover the salaries of his minor league clients across the league who have been recently been released.
Scott Boras to pay salaries of released minor league clients — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
One day after getting big blowback, the Nationals have reversed course on a puzzling decision.
Nationals back off of minor league stipend cut — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
Yesterday it was reported that the Washington Nationals would cut the weekly stipend paid to their minor leaguers from $400 a week to $300 per week through the end of June.
For frame of reference, MLB had agreed to pay all minor leaguers $400 per week through May 31. Several teams have agreed to extend that, with the Royals and Twins agreeing to do it all the way through the end of August. The Oakland A’s decided to stop the payments in their entirety as of today. The Nationals were unique in cutting $100 off of the checks.
The A’s and the Nationals have taken a great amount of flak for what they’ve done. The Nats move was immediately countered by Nationals major league players announcing that they would cover what the organization would not.
The A’s are, apparently, still sticking to their plan. The Nats, however, have reversed course:
Source: Nationals owners have decided to pay minor leaguers $400 a week after deciding to cut the stipend from $400 to $300.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) June 1, 2020
One can easily imagine a situation in which Nats ownership just decided, cold-heartedly, to lop that hundred bucks off of each minor league check and not worry about a moment longer. What’s harder to imagine is what seems to have actually happened: the Nats did it without realizing that anyone would take issue with it, were surprised by the blowback, and then reversed course. Like, what kind of a bubble where they living in that they did not think people would consider that a low-rent thing to do?
In any event, good move, Nats, even if I cannot even begin to comprehend your thought process.
The Rays, Nationals, Mets, Brewers, Mariners, Orioles, and Reds were among the teams to release minor league players from their contracts today.
Teams release bunches of minor leaguers — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
By Bill BaerMay 28, 2020, 4:05 PM EDT3 Comments
The last seven months have been brutal for Minor League Baseball. In November, before the coronavirus pandemic caused many businesses to shut down, Major League Baseball was considering eliminating over one-quarter of their minor league teams. The idea received blowback, including condemnation from sitting members of Congress. Then the pandemic happened and MLB shut down operations for the time being. While MLB works on getting some semblance of a 2020 season going, there will be no minor league season. MLB will get to eliminate 40-plus minor league teams after all, aided in part by the coronavirus.
The baseball shutdown has been tough on minor leaguers, who are only paid — and severely underpaid, at that — during the regular season. They are not paid during spring training or offseason. Thankfully, MLB stepped up and agreed to pay minor leaguers $400 per week through May 31. That day is fast approaching. The Athletics announced they will not be paying their minor leaguers after May 31. The Rangers, Padres, White Sox, Braves, Mariners, Marlins, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Mets and Astros announced they will continue their players at least through the end of June. The Marlins, Padres, and Mariners will pay theirs through the end of August.
As part of the March agreement in which MLB ownership and the MLB Players Association agreed on prorated salaries for the 2020 season, if there is one, the 2020 draft was shortened to five rounds. The 2021 could be only 20 rounds. Also part of the agreement, teams can sign an unlimited amount of undrafted players for $20,000, a significant boon for ownership considering sixth-round bonus slots last year ranged from $237,000 to $301,600.
Sadly, there has been more minor league carnage. Many teams have been releasing minor league players recently: the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Rays, Nationals, Mets, Brewers, Mariners, Orioles, and Reds are who we know of so far, thanks to reporting from Jon Heyman and Robert Murray. Veteran outfielder Carlos González made the most headlines, as he was released from his minor league contract with the Mariners today. An agent Heyman spoke with called the whole thing “literally a war zone out there.” It’s worth noting that some of these releases likely would’ve happened at the end of spring training.
The Athletic’s Emily Waldon spoke to another agent who was more colorful about the issue. He said, “So, they can claim they’re still paying guys, but actually threw a third of the system overboard to save what? Less than 300k?” The agent added, “Also, why aren’t the players and leagues webpages pages updated with the releases? So no one can see the carnage? Don’t need to clear 50+ spots before a five-round draft.”
The shortened draft is going to cause a lot of players who otherwise would’ve been picked today to play for junior colleges. Some will give up on their baseball dream altogether. Eliminating more than 40 minor league teams — cutting thousands of baseball jobs in the process — will cause many to pick other lines of work. Cutting players in the middle of a pandemic will have the same effect. Long-term, why would anyone choose to chase a baseball dream? It was a tough road before, but it will be even tougher going forward. Two-sport star Kyler Murray chose to pursue a career in the NFL rather than MLB; it’s easy to see younger kids seeing a more realistic and lucrative road in other sports as well. The owners get to save a negligible amount of money in the short-term, but the popularity of the sport is going to hurt immensely from these self-inflicted austerity measures.
Former minor league catcher Eric Sim urged people to donate gift cards to help players eat. Sim estimates he has sent 35 players cards totaling over $900.
Eric Sim sends minor leaguers gift cards to help where MLB hasn’t — HardballTalk | NBC Sports
By Bill BaerMar 16, 2020, 5:51 PM EDTLeave a comment
The plight of minor league players has increasingly been in the news in recent years, though for all the wrong reasons. After spending years and millions of dollars lobbying Congress, Major League Baseball successfully got language in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 amended so that minor leaguers were no longer owed a minimum wage and overtime pay. Last year, we learned that MLB was proposing shrinking the minor leagues by more than 25 percent, eliminating 42 teams. Thankfully, that received pushback and may not ultimately be carried out.
All of that is in addition to minor leaguers already being paid peanuts during the season. Most minor leaguers don’t even make five figures, requiring them to take up part-time jobs during the season as well as in the offseason, when they are expected to continue training. They are not paid for spring training or extended spring training. Now that baseball – both major league and minor league – has pushed back the start of the regular season, minor leaguers face even more uncertainty as they may not be paid as the world deals with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In January, before the U.S. was confronted head-on with COVID-19, former minor league catcher Eric Sim (pictured, in 2010 when he played college baseball with the University of South Florida) suggested ways fans can help out minor leaguers. He tweeted, “If anyone wants to help minor leaguers, it’s not that hard. Reach out to them on social media, buy them some beers, or a meal, or give em Chipotle gift cards so that they can afford guac for once. Minor leaguers don’t expect 1000s of dollars, they appreciate the little things.” And thus, a movement was born. In the ensuing two months, Sim and others provided gift cards to a handful of minor leaguers. A few examples:David Lebron✔@dlebron93
Big shoutout to @esim69 and the anonymous donors powering minor leaguers through the grind! Huge for the boys! #LFG
The view from left field 