Columbus Clippers 2024 Coaching Staff Announced
January 24, 2024 - International League (IL)
Columbus Clippers News Release
COLUMBUS, OH - The Cleveland Guardians have announced the player development assignments for their Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. Columbus will see some new faces mixed with returners from the player development staff that led the Clippers in 2023.
Clippers President and General Manager Ken Schnacke said of the staff, "Each season is a new challenge and we are pleased that Andy Tracy stays on as our manager along with bringing back Owen Dew and Junior Betances. The new staff members will be an exciting addition to the team. It is wonderful to see so many coaches come to us from within the Guardians system who have a level of familiarity with our players".
Andy Tracy begins his fifth year with the Clippers, his fourth as Manager. The Bowling Green, Ohio native was a 16th round pick of the Montreal Expos out of Bowling Green State University in 1996. Tracy played in the Majors with the Expos, Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies, as well as playing in the Mets, Orioles and Diamondbacks systems. Before joining the Cleveland organization, he spent seven years coaching for the Phillies, six as a minor league hitting coordinator and one managing the Williamsport Crosscutters (Short-Season). Tracy served as the Clippers Hitting Coach in 2019 and the alternate site Manager in 2020. He is currently 7th place in Clippers history with 212 wins, 30 behind Rick Down and Mike Sarbaugh for 4th place.
Owen Dew is back as Clippers Pitching Coach. Dew directed the Akron RubberDucks pitching staff in the 2021 & '22 seasons and is entering his 8th year in the Guardians organization. Originally from Tallahassee, FL, Dew was drafted by Cleveland in 2010 in the 21st round out of Central Florida. He compiled a 3.86 ERA over three minor league seasons.
The Clippers new assistant pitching coach is Andrew Moore. Moore is from Springfield, OR and was a 2nd round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners in 2015 from Oregon State, reaching the Majors in 2017 & 2019. He also pitched in the TB, SF, DET & TOR organizations, posting a career ERA of 3.46 over nine professional seasons.
Longtime member of the Cleveland organization, Junior Betances returns as hitting coach for 2024. A native of the Dominican Republic, Betances has served as a player, coach or executive in the Cleveland system for 26 years since being acquired from Milwaukee as a Rule 5 draft pick in 1996. Betances hit .277 over 6 minor league seasons with a .729 OPS.
Mike Mergenthaler will also be a hitting coach for Columbus. The Thiells, NY native played two seasons in the San Francisco organization after being drafted in the 32nd round in 2011 out of the University of Richmond. He began his coaching career with Cleveland in 2017 and has spent the last three seasons with Akron as a bench coach or hitting coach.
Daniel Robertson will serve his first season as the Clipper bench coach. Robertson was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 33rd round in 2008 out of Oregon State University. He played parts of four seasons in the Major Leagues for four organizations (TEX, LAA, SEA, CLE). Robertson played in 57 games for the Clippers in 2017 with a .321/.383/.373 slash line. He joins the Clippers staff after serving two years in the Guardians system as a bench coach (LYN '22, AKR '23).
The training staff scheduled to maintain the health and wellness of the team in 2024 includes Jake Legan in his first season as the Clippers trainer, while Tyler Grisdale is back as the Strength & Conditioning Coach.
The 2024 season begins March 29th in St Paul, MN when the Clippers take on the St Paul Saints. For tickets and more information, log on to clippersbaseball.com or call (614) 462-5250.
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