Rangers Announce 2026 Minor League Coordinators and Coaching Staffs
Arlington, Texas — The Texas Rangers today announced the organization’s 2026 minor league coordinators and coaching staffs for its top four minor league affiliates. Additionally, the club has hired Stephanos Stroop as its Director of Pitching Strategies and Initiatives.
The coordinator staff will consist of Kenny Holmberg (Field/Infield), Nick Janssen (Asst. Field), Jon Goebel (Pitching), Thomas St. Clair (Asst. Pitching), Tyler Wolfe (Hitting), Jared Walker (Asst. Hitting), and Kevin Torres (Catching). Veteran minor league manager and coach Kyle Moore joins the organization to manage Triple-A Round Rock, while the club elevated three of its minor league skippers from 2025 to manage the remainder of its full-season affiliates in 2026: Chad Comer (Double-A Frisco), Carlos Maldonado (High-A Hub City), and Nick Janssen (Single-A Hickory). Additionally, Esteban Cardoza (ACL Rangers) will skipper Texas’ Arizona-based rookie-level affiliate after managing the DSL Rangers in 2025.
The 39-year-old Moore will be in his first season as Round Rock’s manager as he joins the Texas organization following a one-year stint as the bench coach of the Iowa Cubs, Chicago-NL’s Triple-A affiliate. The Alabama native enters with five years of prior minor league managerial experience at four different levels within the Baltimore organization: Short-Season Aberdeen (2018), Single-A Delmarva (2019), High-A Aberdeen (2021), Double-A Bowie (2022-23).
In 2025, Texas farm clubs combined to produce a winning record for the seventh straight season (2018-19, 2021-25), going 368-349 (.513) across all levels. Three of the Rangers' seven minor league affiliates qualified for postseason play last year, headlined by Hub City advancing to the South Atlantic League Championship Series in its inaugural season.
Coordinators
Kenny Holmberg returns for a fifth season as the club’s Field Coordinator while also maintaining Infield Coordinator duties for an 11th straight year. Jon Goebel will handle Pitching Coordinator duties, his second consecutive season to have involvement in the role after serving as both Upper Level Pitching Coordinator and Round Rock’s Pitching Coach in 2025. Tyler Wolfe is entering his fourth season with the Rangers organization and his first as a Hitting Coordinator after filling the role of Hitting Coach for Frisco (2024-25) and ACL Rangers (2023). Jared Walker, who joins the Rangers minor league staff for his first season in 2026 following a three-year coaching stint in the San Francisco Giants system, will be the club’s Assistant Hitting Coordinator. Kevin Torres enters his first season as Catching Coordinator and seventh year as a member of the Rangers organization after he was most recently the ACL Rangers Development Coach in 2025.
Triple-A Round Rock Express
Kyle Moore enters his first season as Round Rock’s manager after serving for one year (2025) as the bench coach for Triple-A Iowa of the Chicago Cubs organization. Prior to his Cubs stay, Moore was a skipper at four different levels of the Baltimore chain, combining for a 321-286 (.529) record over five seasons (2018-19, 2021-23). His 2019 Single-A Delmarva squad finished a league-best 90-48 and posted the highest winning percentage (.652) of any full-season minor league team that year. Dave Borkowski (Boar-COW-ski) returns for his fourth season with the Express and third as the club’s Pitching Coach (also 2023-24) following a one-year stint as Round Rock Bullpen Coach in 2025. Matt Lawson (Hitting Coach) will oversee Round Rock’s offensive efforts for a fifth straight year, a position he has held since joining the organization in 2022. Entering his 12th season and sixth with Round Rock, Chase Lambin will serve as the Express’ Development Coach in 2026. Kawika Emsley-Pai (Development Coach), who is primed for his sixth season on the Rangers minor league staff, rejoins Round Rock, where his professional coaching tenure began as a Development Coach in 2021. Julio Valdez (Bullpen Coach) joins the Express staff after serving as Double-A Frisco’s Pitching Coach in 2025. The Round Rock support staff will consist of Michael Theile (Athletic Trainer), who will be in his fifth season in the Rangers organization (first with the Express), and Jeff Mathers (Strength and Conditioning), who is embarking on his third campaign with Round Rock.
Double-A Frisco RoughRiders
Chad Comer, who helmed Hub City to the 2025 South Atlantic League Championship Series, enters his 10th year as a coach in the Texas farm system and first as manager in Frisco, where he served as a development coach in 2022. From 2023-25 as manager of the Rangers’ High-A affiliates at Hickory (2023-24) and Hub City (2025), Comer’s teams went 197-191 (.508) and advanced to the South Atlantic League playoffs in both 2023 and 2025. Former Ranger Jason Hart (Hitting Coach) returns to the organization for his 13th season as a Texas minor league hitting coach, first since 2019 after most recently serving as a Major League assistant hitting coach for the Miami Marlins under Skip Schumaker from 2023-24. Hart made his Major League debut as a player with Texas in 2002 and coached several Rangers minor league affiliates from 2008-19, including with Frisco from 2012-19. Thomas St. Clair (Asst. Pitching Coordinator/Pitching Coach), Jay Sullenger (Development Coach), and Kiley Brown (Athletic Trainer) remain on Comer’s staff after the trio were with Hub City in 2025. St. Clair will be in his fifth season as a Rangers minor league pitching coach, first at the Double-A level after leading a Hub City staff that finished third in the SAL with a 3.50 ERA in 2025. Sullenger (7th season with the Rangers) and Brown (3rd season) are also making their Double-A staff debuts. Jorge Hernandez (Development Coach) joins the Frisco staff after a 19-year stint as a coach and coordinator with the Marlins organization, and Brett Platts (Strength and Conditioning) returns for his third season with Frisco and fourth year with the Texas organization.
High-A Hub City Spartanburgers
Carlos Maldonado will be in his first year as the manager of the Hub City Spartanburgers and seventh season as a skipper in the Rangers organization. The Maracaibo, Venezuela native has combined for a 322-244 (.569) managerial mark with Single-A Down East/Hickory (2023-25), ACL Rangers (2022), and DSL Rangers (2019, 2021), fashioning a winning record in six consecutive campaigns (beg. 2019). Mason Milkey (Pitching Coach) is set for his fourth season with the Rangers organization and first with Hub City after filling the same role with ACL Rangers in 2025. Brian Pozos (Hitting Coach) ascends to the High-A ranks for the first time in his Texas tenure – his fifth season with the organization overall – after serving as a hitting coach at the Single-A (2023-25) and ACL (2022) levels. The Spartanburgers staff will consist of two Development Coaches: Jorge Cortes, who reprises his role from 2025, and Landon Lassiter, an organizational newcomer who most recently coached in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system (2023-25). Dakota Fowee (Athletic Trainer) is entering his second season with the Rangers following a 2025 campaign in which he was the ACL Rangers Athletic Trainer, while Strength and Conditioning Coach Bryce Gist will be in his third season in that role with Hub City.
Single-A Hickory Crawdads
Nick Janssen will manage a full-season affiliate for the first time in 2026 after leading the Rookie-level 2024 DSL Rangers Red and 2025 ACL Rangers to divisional titles and postseason berths, boasting a two-year managerial record of 72-44 (.621). 2026 will mark Janssen’s eighth season in the Rangers organization and signals a return to Hickory, where he began his professional coaching career as a data apprentice in 2019. Carlisle Koestler (Pitching Coach), who was a pitching supervisor (2025) and coach (2024) for the club’s Dominican Summer League affiliates, joins Hickory’s staff for his third season with the Rangers organization. Dan Padilla (Hitting Coach) rises to Hickory for his fourth year as a Rangers minor league hitting coach after a two-year stint with the ACL Rangers from 2024-25. Elevys Gonzalez, a six-year veteran of the club’s minor league staff, and Herbert Iser, a newcomer to the organization who was on the High-A Jersey Shore (Philadelphia) staff in 2025, will be Hickory’s Development Coaches in 2026. Garrett Enders (Athletic Trainer) returns for his second year with Hickory and sixth season in the Texas chain. Logan Schild (Strength and Conditioning) enters his first season in professional baseball following a four-year run as a sports performance coach with Wingate (N.C.) University from 2022-25.
For a complete look at the 2026 player development staff, please see the chart on the Texas Rangers PR X account.