Cubs announce 2021 Minor League coaching staffs
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs today announced their minor league managers and coaching staffs for the 2021 season. A detailed list of each club’s managers and coaching staffs are included on the following page, and more information on returning members of the organization may be found on pages 194-225 of the Chicago Cubs 2020 Media Guide.
Last December, the Cubs extended invitations to Triple-A Iowa, Double-A Tennessee, High-A South Bend and Low-A Myrtle Beach to continue to be Cubs affiliates in Major League Baseball’s new player development structure. MLB last week announced that the four teams have accepted those invitations.
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. Johnson played 17 seasons (1994-2010), including 332 major league games with the White Sox (1998-2002), Oakland (2003), Milwaukee (2004) and St. Louis (2008).
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. He led the Curve to the Eastern League championship in 2017, the first of two-straight campaigns with Western Division titles. The former outfielder played 149 major league games with the Twins (2002-05) and Angels (2010).
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 began his coaching career in 2016 as Mesa’s rehab coach following 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.