Cardinals announce 2013 minor league field staffs
Triple-A, Double-A and High-A Palm Beach retain incumbent managers
ST. LOUIS, Mo., January 4, 2013 – The St. Louis Cardinals today announced the organization’s minor league coaching and training staffs for the upcoming 2013 season.
Ron “Pop” Warner, Mike Shildt, Johnny Rodriguez and Steve Turco will return to their managerial posts carried over from 2012. Shildt led the Springfield Cardinals to their first Texas League Championship since the team returned to Springfield, and his third consecutive league championship in the Cardinals organization with the previous two coming at Johnson City in 2010 and 2011. Turco led the Gulf Coast League Cardinals to their first playoff appearance by winning the GCL East Division with a team record 34 wins.
Dann Bilardello and Oliver Marmol will take new positions as Bilardello will manage the Peoria affiliate and Marmol will become manager of State College, the Cardinals two new minor league affiliates for 2013. Bilardello led the Batavia squad to a 44-32 record and finished second in the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division. Marmol took his Johnson City squad to the playoffs, earning a Wild Card spot with a 39-28 record in his first season as a manager.
Joe Kruzel will manage the Johnson City affiliate after spending the last five years as hitting coach for the Cardinals Midwest League affiliate. Kruzel last managerial post was for the Reds’ Pioneer League affiliate in 2007.
Among the Cardinals minor league coaching assignment changes, as Bryan Eversgerd will take over as Memphis pitching coach after spending the last two seasons in Springfield. Ace Adams moves up a level for the second consecutive year and will be at Palm Beach in 2013. Dernier Orozco maintains his post at State College.
Newcomers to the Cardinals minor league staff include Springfield pitching coach Randy Niemann who finished the 2012 season as the Boston Red Sox pitching coach under Bobby Valentine, Jason Simontacchi, the former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, will become the Peoria pitching coach. The Johnson City pitching coach will be Paul Davis and GCL pitching coach is Darwin Marrero.
Incumbent hitting coaches Mark Budaska (Memphis) and Phillip Wellman (Springfield) will return to their posts in 2013. Roger LaFrancois (Palm Beach), Ramon Ortiz (State College) and Jobel Jimenez each have new positions in 2013 and two former members of the Cardinals organization; Erik Pappas (Peoria) a catcher in St. Louis in 1993-94 and Roberto Espinoza (Johnson City), a former Cardinals minor league catcher, were added as coaches.
Luis Aguayo takes a new position as International Field Coordinator/Infield Instructor after managing Palm Beach for the last two seasons. Tim Leveque received a promotion as the Mechanics Coordinator in addition to the Minor League Pitchers Rehab Coordinator.
The Cardinals 2013 minor league coaching/staff assignments are as follows:
| Club | Manager | Pitching Coach | Hitting Coach | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis (AAA) | Ron “Pop” Warner* | Bryan Eversgerd^ | Mark Budaska* | Jeremy Clipperton* |
| Springfield (AA) | Mike Shildt* | Randy Niemann | Phillip Wellman* | Scott Ensell^ |
| Palm Beach (A) | Johnny Rodriguez* | Arthur “Ace” Adams^ | Roger LaFrancois^ | Keith Joynt^ |
| Peoria (A) | Dann Bilardello^ | Jason Simontacchi | Erik Pappas | Mike Petrarca^ |
| State College (A) | Oliver Marmol^ | Dernier Orozco* | Ramon Ortiz^ | Dan Martin^ |
| Johnson City (R) | Joe Kruzel^ | Paul Davis | Roberto Espinoza | Tony Reyes^ |
| GCL Cardinals (R) | Steve Turco* | Darwin Marrero | Jobel Jimenez^ | TBD |
Field Coordinator – Mark DeJohn*
Pitching Coordinator – Brent Strom*
Hitting Coordinator – Derrick May*
Special Assistant to Player Development – Gaylen Pitts*
International Field Coordinator/Infield Instructor – Luis Aguayo^
Minor League Strength/Conditioning Coordinator – Rene Pena*
Mechanics Analyst/Rehab Pitching Coordinator – Tim Leveque^
Minor League Strength & Conditioning Coaches – Sean Johnson (Memphis), Josh Cue (Springfield)
*-Returning coach/trainer
^-Returning coach/trainer with new assignment