Astros Name Four to Sports Medicine Staff

HOUSTON, TX - The Houston Astros have completed their 2016 Major League sports medicine staff, naming Jeremiah Randall as head athletic trainer and Daniel Roberts an assistant athletic trainer. The two join assistant athletic trainer James Ready on the Major League staff. Additionally, the Astros named Scott Barringer the club's minor league medical coordinator and Rachel Balkovec as the Latin America strength and conditioning coordinator. The announcement was made by Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow.

Randall, 34, joins the Astros from the Pirates, where he spent the last three years (2013-15) as the club's Major League rehab coordinator, physical therapist and assistant athletic trainer. He also spent the 2012 season as Pittsburgh's minor league rehab coordinator. In addition to his time with the Pirates, Randall also had stints on the medical staffs with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.

Randall received his Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree in 2009 from the University of Miami (FL). That followed his undergraduate degree in Biology, obtained from Tabor College in Hillsboro, KS, and his athletic training degree from the University of Kansas.

Roberts, 32, will serve as the team's assistant athletic trainer and physical therapist. He spent the last five seasons (2011-15) as the Astros minor league rehab coordinator, running the organization's minor league rehab programs and assisting with Major League rehab out of the Astros Spring Training facility. Roberts has his Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from East Tennessee State University and received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Athletic Training from Eastern Kentucky University. In 2014, he became a board certified Sports Physical Therapist.

Barringer, 28, joins the Astros as the club's minor league medical coordinator after spending the last five seasons as a minor league athletic trainer in the Chicago Cubs (2013-15) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2011-12) organizations. He spent the last two seasons at Triple A Iowa. Barringer received his Master of Science Degree in Athletic Training from East Carolina University (Greenville, NC) in 2011 and his Bachelor of Science Degree in Athletic Training from East Stroudsburg University (E. Stroudsburg, PA) in 2009.

Balkovec, 28, who will be based out of Kissimmee, Fla., spent three of the last four seasons (2012, 2014-15) in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, serving as a minor league strength and conditioning coordinator (2014-15) and as a minor league strength and conditioning coach (2012). Upon her hire in 2012, she became the first female to hold a position as a full-time strength coach in affiliated baseball. Balkovec, who is also bilingual, completed her undergraduate degree in Exercise Science at the University of New Mexico in 2009 and her graduate degree in Sports Administration from Louisiana State University in 2011.

-ASTROS-