CLEVELAND -- John McDonald spent the better part of two decades putting dazzling defense on display on the big league stage. The Indians announced Monday that the former shortstop will now be charged with helping mold the developing infielders within their farm system.
McDonald, who served as a special assistant to player development last year for Cleveland, will take over as the Tribe's Minor League infield coordinator this year. According to a release by the ballclub, the 41-year-old McDonald will be "the primary resource to Minor League coaches in the implementing and monitoring of individual infielder player plans."
The Indians selected McDonald in the 12th round of the 1996 Draft, and he turned himself into one of baseball's elite infield defenders over the course of a 16-year career, which included parts of seven seasons with Cleveland. Dating back to 1990, McDonald is one of only 10 shortstops to register at least 51 Defensive Runs Saved.
The Indians have also hired former pitcher Bruce Chen, who retired in 2015 after a two-start stint with Cleveland, to be a Minor League cultural development coordinator. Chen pitched in 17 seasons in the Majors with 11 teams, appearing in 400 games. Chen -- a native of Panama who speaks multiple languages -- will assist all organizational players in the transition to professional baseball, with a focus on Latin-born players.
Cleveland also announced Triple-A Columbus manager Chris Tremie, Double-A manager Dave Wallace and Class A Advanced Lynchburg manager Mark Budzinski will all return to the same role in 2016. Tony Mansolino, who spent the past five seasons between three Class A teams, will manager Class A Lake County. Edwin Rodriguez, who managed the Marlins in 2010-11, will manage Class A Short-Season Mahoning Valley in his fifth season with the Indians.
Another notable addition is the hiring of Steve McCatty to be the pitching coach at Lake County. McCatty spent the past seven seasons as the Major League pitching coach for the Nationals, who added him to their system after he worked as the big league pitching coach for the Tigers from 2003-05.
Below is the list of Cleveland's 2016 player-development staff:
Front office
Director, player development: Carter Hawkins
Assistant director, player development: Eric Binder
Assistant director, player development: Alex Eckelman
Director, administration: Wendy Hoppel
Administrative assistant: Nilda Taffanelli
Coordinators
Field coordinator: Tom Wiedenbauer
Pitching coordinator: Ruben Niebla
Assistant field coordinator: Julio Rangel
Lower level pitching coordinator: Matt Blake
Hitting coordinator: Jim Rickon
Catching coordinator: Scooter Tucker
Infield coordinator: McDonald
Cultural development: Chen
Strength and conditioning: Todd Kubacki
Rehab coordinator: TBA
Pitching programs, rehab: Ken Knutson
Strength and conditioning, Latin America: Nelson Perez
Performance coach: Ceci Clark
Performance coach: Brian Miles
Performance coach: Oscar Gutierrez
Special assistant: Tim Belcher
Special assistant: Travis Hafner
Advisor: Jhonny Goryl
Advisor: Minnie Mendoza
Advisor: Tim Tolman
Advisor: Travis Fryman
Columbus
Manager: Tremie
Pitching coach: Steve Karsay
Hitting coach: Rouglas Odor
Coach: Omir Santos
Athletic trainer: Chad Wolfe
Strength and conditioning: Ed Subel
Double-A Akron
Manager: Wallace
Pitching coach: Tony Arnold
Hitting coach: Tim Laker
Athletic trainer: Jeremy Heller
Strength and conditioning: Scott Nealon
Lynchburg
Manager: Budzinski
Pitching coach: Rigo Beltran
Hitting coach: Larry Day
Athletic trainer: Bobby Ruiz
Strength and conditioning: Juan Acevedo
Lake County
Manager: Mansolino
Pitching coach: McCatty
Hitting coach: TBD
Coach: Junior Betances
Athletic trainer: Matt Beauregard
Strength and conditioning: Paul Synenkyj
Mahoning Valley
Manager: Rodriguez
Pitching coach: Tighe Dickinson
Hitting coach: Kevin Howard
Athletic trainer: Jake Legan
Strength and conditioning: Jake Sankal
Arizona League (Rookie)
Manager: Anthony Medrano
Pitching coach: Mark Allen
Hitting coach: Dennis Malave
Hitting coach: Bobby Magallanes
Athletic trainer: Ted Blackwell
Rehab strength: Pat Trainor
Strength and conditioning: Cesar Yepez
Dominican Summer League (Rookie)
Field coordinator: Jose Mejia
Pitching coach: Jesus Sanchez
Pitching coach: Carlos Jan
Hitting coach: Freddy Tiburcio
Infield coach: Carlos Fermin
Tryout coach: Jesus Tavarez
Strength and conditioning: Hasani Torres
Assistant, strength and conditioning: Fernando Cabral
Athletic trainer: Gabriel Garcia
Athletic trainer: Edwin Garcia