RAYS ANNOUNCE NEW HIRES AND PROMOTIONS ACROSS BUSINESS AND BASEBALL OPERATIONS
The Tampa Bay Rays have announced internal promotions, new hires and title changes across various departments, including baseball operations, stadium operations, human resources, community engagement, grounds crew, marketing, fan experience and strategy & analytics. There are also title changes and promotions among the Major League team staff.
Business Operations
Jenn Tran: Chief People and Community Officer
Bill Wiener Jr.: Chief Administrative Officer
Dan Moeller: Director, Special Projects and Field Operations
Mike Deubel: Head Groundskeeper
Luis Cuccati: Director, Administration
Elvis Martinez: Director, Communications & Player Relations
Miguel Velez: Director, Fan Experience
Yanna Pantelis: Director, Marketing
Brennan DiChiara: Senior Director, Strategy & Analytics
Additionally, the following operations staff earned promotions earlier in 2023 after the retirement of longtime Rays staff member Robert Bennett:
Ken Mallory: Director, Ticket Operations
Jeane Drury: Director, Ticket Sales
Ryan Sullivan: Director, Ticket Sales
Baseball Operations
Front Office
Kevin Ibach: Vice President, Baseball Operations/Assistant General Manager
Jonathan Erlichman: Vice President, Process & Analytics
Joe Myers: Senior Director, Baseball Performance Science
Ryan Bristow: Director, Pro Personnel & Pro Scouting
Major League Staff
Bryan King: Head Major League Strength and Conditioning Coach
Trung Cao: Major League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
Bobby Kinne: Major League Pitching Strategist
Kris Goodman: Major League Process and Development Coach
Katie Mooradian: Assistant, Advance Scouting and Major League Operations
Justin Su’a: Performance Development Specialist
Business Operations
Jenn Tran spearheads the Rays efforts on culture and community. Her areas of responsibility include leading the administration and human resources departments, as well as the community engagement team, which includes the Rays Baseball Foundation. Tran has been with the Rays organization for 28 years.
Bill Wiener Jr. leads stadium operations, fan experience and risk management for the organization while also supporting the ballpark initiative. Wiener has been with the Rays organization for 28 years.
Dan Moeller leaves the role of Head Groundskeeper after 23 years to join the team responsible for the design and build of a new ballpark. He continues in his role as Director of Operations at Charlotte Sports Park and retains oversight of field operations at Tropicana Field. In addition, Moeller will have a role in the ongoing renovations and redevelopment of the Rays Academy in the Dominican Republic.
Mike Deubel, Assistant Head Groundskeeper for the past 19 years, is promoted to Head Groundskeeper. Deubel is responsible for maintaining the exterior grounds at Tropicana Field, as well as all playing surfaces at the ballpark in collaboration with front office leadership and MLB.
Luis Cuccati moves to a role with the Rays after five years in business development and strategy with the Rowdies. As Director, Administration, Cuccati focuses on increasing efficiencies within the stadium operations department and supports efforts toward the new ballpark and the Rays Dominican facility.
Elvis Martinez now leads player relations pertaining to media and partnership requests, as well as baseball information needs. Martinez joined the Rays as Manager, Communications in 2023 after holding a similar role with the Minnesota Twins.
Miguel Velez joins the Rays as Director, Fan Experience after four years in a position leading operations at LEGOLAND. He is responsible for enhancing the fan experience and the department's special projects and team development.
Yanna Pantelis comes to the organization as Director, Marketing, overseeing marketing and advertising efforts. Pantelis most recently served in marketing and promotions with the University of Florida Athletic Association.
Brennan DiChiara joins the organization as Senior Director, Strategy & Analytics. He leads business intelligence and data strategy, as well as various business development efforts. DiChiara joins the Rays from the Buffalo Bills/Pegula Sports and Entertainment group.
Baseball Operations
Kevin Ibach is promoted to Vice President, Baseball Operations/Assistant General Manager, joining Carlos Rodriguez, Chanda Lawdermilk and Will Cousins. Ibach's core duties remain focused on Player Development, Pro Personnel and Pro Scouting, adding strategy and daily oversight of the department at large.
Jonathan Erlichman transitions back into the front office as Vice President, Process and Analytics from his role in the dugout as Process and Analytics Coach. In the new role, Erlichman will work across departments to accelerate projects of high impact and conduct research related to player wellness.
Joe Myers is promoted to Senior Director, Baseball Performance Science. Still providing leadership over the performance science team, Myers adds responsibility for the integration of medical science, strength and conditioning, nutrition, mental performance and performance science to better serve players' overall health.
Ryan Bristow is promoted to Director, Pro Personnel and Pro Scouting, leading those two departments. His oversight focuses on professional player evaluation and information integration for player acquisition efforts.
Bryan King leads the strength and conditioning team as Head Major League Strength and Conditioning Coach (S&C). He assumes administration of all S&C programming and communication with field, front office and medical staff. King oversees the development and training of all major league players and monitors all injury rehabilitation programs.
Trung Cao moves into the role of Major League Strength and Conditioning Coordinator. In this role, he works in the rehabilitation program to ensure the integration of strength training. Cao also spends time mentoring the minor league strength & conditioning program staff.
Bobby Kinne moves from advance scouting to work as a Pitching Strategist. Kinne functions alongside the pitching and bullpen coaches, and assists with strategy in the dugout during games.
Katie Mooradian helps manage the advance scouting team as Assistant, Advance Scouting and Major League Operations. She supports advance scouting and video operations needs at home and on the road. Mooradian started with the Rays as MLB Fellow in January 2022.
Justin Su'a transitions to Performance Development Specialist. In this role, he focuses on staff initiatives and projects outside of the clubhouse.
Kris Goodman assumes mental performance duties as Major League Process and Development Coach. Goodman joined the minor league staff in 2020 in a similar role after playing in the Marlins minor league system.