ARLINGTON -- A promotion for Spike Owen is prominent among the shifting and settling of Minor League personnel in the Rangers' farm system for 2018.
Owen, who was on the Rangers' Major League coaching staff in 2016, is moving up to manage Class A Advanced Down East in the Carolina League. He was at Class A Hickory in the South Atlantic League in '17.
The details:
Triple-A Round Rock: Manager Jason Wood and coach Geno Petralli will be with the Express for the fourth straight year. They will be joined by hitting coach Howard Johnson, who managed Down East in 2017, and pitching coach Brian Shouse. Johnson was a Major League hitting coach with the Mariners (2013-15) and the Mets (2008-10).
Double-A Frisco: Joe Mikulik returns to Frisco for his fourth season as manager and 20th overall in the Minors. Former Ranger Jason Hart enters his seventh season as the Frisco hitting coach, and pitching coach Greg Hibbard joins the staff after two seasons at Round Rock.
Class A Advanced Down East: Owen will be joined by Kenny Hook, who was his hitting coach at Hickory last year. Steve Mintz returns as pitching coach and Carlos Maldonado serves as an extra coach.
Class A Hickory: Manager Matt Hagen moves up from Class A Short Season Spokane. Pitching coach Jose Jaimes returns and will be joined by hitting coach Chase Lambin and coach Turtle Thomas, who are also moving up from Spokane.
Class A Short Season Spokane: Kenny Holmberg returns to managing after two years as infield coordinator. Jono Arnolds moves up from the Arizona Rookie League to be pitching coach and Jared Goedert will be the hitting coach.
Arizona Rookie League: Matt Siegel will manage the Rangers for a third straight season. Henderson Lugo and Chris Egelston will serve as pitching coaches. Salomon Manriquez returns as a hitting coach, while Jeremy Moore joins the staff after one season as a coach for Down East. Former Ranger Guilder Rodriguez will be a member of the AZL Rangers staff for a second straight year.
Dominican Summer League: Carlos Cardoza will manage the DSL Rangers for a third straight season. Jesus Delgado and Pablo Blanco both return to the staff as pitching coaches, while Chad Comer, Alexis Infante, Chu Ovalle, Roberto De La Rosa and Luis Encarnacion also return as coaches.
The Rangers' roving instructor staff will remain intact. Corey Ragsdale will serve as field coordinator along with Danny Clark (pitching), Josue Perez (hitting), Chris Briones (catching), Damon Mashore (baserunning), Dwayne Murphy (outfield), Jeff Andrews (assistant pitching), Josiah Igono (peak performance), Jason Roberts (medical), Sean Fields (rehab coordinator), Chris Olson (assistant medical and rehab), Napoleon Pichardo (strength and conditioning), Eric McMahon and Ric Mabie (strength and conditioning assistants) and Keith Comstock (rehab pitching). Mark Connor will continue to serve as a pitching special assistant.
The Minor League trainers are Carlos Olivas (Round Rock), Jacob Newburn (Frisco), Alex Rodriguez (Down East), Luke Teeters (Hickory) and Bronson Santillan (Spokane).
The strength and conditioning coaches are Eric McMahon (Round Rock), Wade Lamont (Frisco), Al Sandoval (Down East), Adam Noel (Hickory), Ed Yong (Spokane), Chandler Geller (Arizona) and Eduardo Thomas (DSL).