MIAMI -- In September, the Marlins named Marc DelPiano vice president of player development to oversee a farm system that had been depleted in recent years by either trades or players progressing to the big leagues.
As the organization moves forward, a number of changes have been made in the player development department for 2016. On Friday, the Marlins announced their new Minor League staffs.
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Gary Cathcart, in the Nationals' organization from 2010-15, has been named Minor League field coordinator. Meanwhile, Joe Dillon, who played for the Marlins in 2005, was named the hitting coordinator, and Mike Cather, who pitched parts of three seasons with the Braves (1997-99), was hired as the new pitching coordinator.
In addition, the organization promoted Joe Coleman to senior advisor of pitching development and Joe Lisewski to Minor League video coordinator while announcing the return of Tommy Thompson as senior advisor of player development.
As an organization, the Marlins had a rough 2015. The big league club finished 71-91, and five of six Minor League squads finished either in last place or tied for last. Only the GCL Marlins, a Rookie-level affiliate, had a winning record, going 33-27 and finishing in second place in the Gulf Coast League.
Rounding out the Minor League coordinator spots are: Jeff Schwarz (assistant pitching), Jorge Hernandez (infield), Bobby Ramos (catching), John Duffy (rehab pitching), Gene Basham (training and rehab) and Mark Brennan (strength and conditioning).
Triple-A New Orleans will be managed by Arnie Beyeler. Taking over as pitching coach is Derek Botelho, and Paul Phillips is the hitting coach. Also on the staff are Ronnie Deck (coach), Brian Bobier (athletic trainer) and Quentin Eberhardt (strength and conditioning).
At Double-A Jacksonville, Dave Berg returns as manager. His staff includes pitching coach Storm Davis, hitting coach Rich Arena, coach John Pachot, athletic trainer Cesar Roman and strength and conditioning coach Robert Reichert.
Class A Advanced Jupiter was managed last year by Brian Schneider, who has been promoted to catching coach with Miami. Replacing Schneider for the Hammerheads is new manager Randy Ready, and his staff will include Jeremy Powell (pitching), Frank Moore (hitting) and Ben Cates (athletic trainer).
At Class A Greensboro, Kevin Randel is back as manager. Brendan Sagara (pitching), Rigoberto Silverio (hitting), Jose Ceballos (coach) and Michael Bibbo (athletic trainer) complete the staff.
At Class A Short-Season Batavia are Angel Espada (manager), Luis Quinones (hitting), TJ Gamba (coach) and Eric Reigelsberger (athletic trainer). The club has yet to hire a pitching coach.
The Marlins' Gulf Coast League entry will include Julio Bruno (manager), Manny Olivera (pitching), Danny Santin (hitting), Dominick Ambrosini (coach), Patrick Amorelli (athletic trainer) and Trevor Ging (strength and conditioning).