ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays announced their 2018 Minor League on-field coaching and medical staffs on Wednesday.
Jamie Nelson highlighted the moves. After spending the previous five seasons as a Major League coach for the Rays, Nelson will head to Double-A Montgomery.
Rick Knapp has joined the Rays' organization as pitching coach for Triple-A Durham, replacing Kyle Snyder, who was promoted to Tampa Bay's Major League staff. He was the big league pitching coach for the Tigers from 2008-11. In '17, he was the international pitching coordinator for Major League Baseball.
Michael Johns has been assigned the role of Minor League field coordinator, joining Jim Hoff and Bill Evers. Johns has spent the previous eight seasons managing Minor League affiliates. Hector Torres will become the Minor League infield coordinator after spending his previous 12 years in the Rays' organization as a coach.
Tomas Francisco will make his managerial debut for the Gulf Coast League Rays after spending five seasons as a coach between the GCL Rays and Dominican Summer League Rays.
Aaron Scott has been named Minor League medical training coordinator, replacing Joe Benge, who was promoted to the Rays' Major League staff as head athletic trainer. He spent the 2017 season with Class A Advanced Charlotte and has prior experience with the Phillies' and Orioles' organizations.
Joining the organization as coaches are Ben Johnson (Durham) and Jeremy Owens (Class A Bowling Green). In addition, Tsu-tomu Kamiya (Class A Short-Season Hudson Valley) and Peter Walukiewicz (GCL Rays) have been hired as athletic trainers, and Carlos Gonzalez (Montgomery) and James McCallie (Bowling Green) have been hired as conditioning coaches.