Braves Announce New Additions to Baseball Operations Staff
The Atlanta Braves today announced seven additions to the organization's baseball operations staff. The new members of the organization, hired by Braves General Manager John Coppolella, are: Andrew Hauser, director of player health and performance; Joe Metz, minor league medical coordinator; John Pierson, minor league hitting coordinator; Steve Webber, minor league pitching consultant; Kenny Dominguez, assistant rehabilitation instructor; Garrett Wilson, baseball operations analyst; and Noah Woodward, major league operations analyst.
Hauser, 30, spent the last four seasons with Arizona, including serving as the organization's medical coordinator since 2013. The graduate of the University of Kansas also spent three seasons as a trainer in Tampa Bay's organization after getting his start as a strength and conditioning coach and assistant athletic trainer for Philadelphia's Single-A Clearwater team in 2008.
Metz, 31, was Triple-A Reno's trainer last season, his seventh in Arizona's organization. He is a Board Certified Athletic Trainer since 2007 and a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist since 2012.
Pierson, 62, served as Miami's field coordinator last season, his 12th with the Marlins and 20th in professional baseball. A former first-round pick by Kansas City in 1973, Pierson spent the latter half of the 2013 season as the Marlins' interim hitting coach, after being named to the position on July 28. He has also worked for Chicago (NL) and Tampa Bay at the professional level, while coaching at Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University and Phoenix Junior College (AZ) in the amateur ranks.
Webber, 67, last worked as Triple-A Oklahoma City's pitching coach in 2014, one of two seasons he spent with Houston's organization. He spent nine seasons with San Diego (2004-2012) and eight with New York (AL) (1996-2003). Prior to joining the professional ranks, Webber was the head baseball coach at the University of Georgia for 16 years (1981-96).
Dominguez, 60, was with Milwaukee's organization from 2009-2014, serving as a minor league hitting coach. He began his coaching career in 1977 as an assistant coach with Florida College and worked at the professional level with New York (AL), Chicago (AL) , Philadelphia and Los Angeles (NL).
Wilson, 34, worked as an engineer with Amazon and Zillow after graduating from Cornell in 2003.
Woodward, 23, spent last season as an intern in Baltimore's baseball analytics department. He also wrote for Baseball Prospectus and is a graduate of Davidson College.