Indians shuffle Minor League staff assignments

CLEVELAND -- The Indians unveiled their planned player development staff Friday, revealing changes throughout the organization's Minor League system.

The new alignment includes three different managers among Cleveland's four full-time affiliates. Dave Wallace and Scooter Tucker moved up a level each as the new managers of Double-A Akron and Class A (high) Carolina, respectively. The Indians also hired Mark Budzinski (a former Tribe Minor Leaguer) as manager of Class A (low) Lake County.

That managerial shift was necessitated by the promotion of former Major League manager Edwin Rodriguez to the role of special assistant to baseball operations after he served as manager of Akron last season. Under his new title, Rodriguez will use his experiences as a manager, coach and scout to assist the Indians' staff.

Chris Tremie will remain the manager for Triple-A Columbus.

The 40-year-old Budzinski, who will be making his professional coaching debut, was selected by the Indians in the 21st round of the 1995 First-Year Player Draft. He spent seven seasons in the Indians' farm system before moving on to stints with the Cubs, Brewers, Reds and Phillies. Budzinski (an outfielder during his playing days) was a member of Team USA in the 2001 Baseball World Cup, debuted in the Majors with the Reds in '03 and retired in '05.

The Indians also promoted Luis Ortiz to the role of assistant field coordinator after he joined the club in 2013 as its cultural development and lower-level hitting coordinator.

Below is a full list of Cleveland's 2014 player development staff:

Field coordinator: Tom Wiedenbauer
Assistant field coordinator: Luis Ortiz
Pitching coordinator: Ruben Niebla
Lower-level pitching coordinator: Julio Rangel
Mental skills coordinator: Rangel
Hitting coordinator: Alan Zinter
Strength and conditioning: Todd Kubacki
Rehab coordinator: Thomas Albert
Strength and conditioning, Latin America: Nelson Perez
Special assistant: Travis Fryman
Special assistant: Jason Bere
Special assistant: Tim Belcher
Special assistant: Edwin Rodriguez
Advisor: Minnie Mendoza
Advisor: Johnny Goryl
Advisor: Tim Tolman

Triple-A Columbus

Manager: Chris Tremie
Pitching coach: Tony Arnold
Hitting coach: Jim Rickon
Athletic trainer: Chad Wolfe
Strength and conditioning: Ed Subel

Double-A Akron

Manager: Dave Wallace
Pitching coach: Jeff Harris
Hitting coach: Rouglas Odor
Athletic trainer: Jeremy Heller
Strength and conditioning: Jake Sankel

Class A (high) Carolina

Manager: Scooter Tucker
Pitching coach: Steve Karsay
Hitting coach: Tony Mansolino
Athletic trainer: Bobby Ruiz
Strength and conditioning: Scott Nealon

Class A (low) Lake County

Manager: Mark Budzinski
Pitching coach: Rigo Beltran
Hitting coach: Shaun Larkin
Athletic trainer: Matt Beauregard
Strength and conditioning: Paul Synenkyj

Class A (short-season) Mahoning Valley

Manager: Ted Kubiak
Pitching coach: Greg Hibbard
Hitting coach: Phil Clark
Athletic trainer: TBD
Strength and conditioning: Juan Acevado

Arizona League (rookie)

Manager: Anthony Medrano
Pitching coach: Mark Allen
Hitting coach: Junior Betances
Coach: Dennis Malave
Athletic trainer: Ted Blackwell
Strength and conditioning: Cesar Yepez

Dominican Summer League (rookie)

Field coordinator: Jose Mejia
Pitching coach: Jesus Sanchez
Hitting coach: Francisco Cabrera
Coach: Carlos Fermin
Strength and conditioning: Hasani Torres