SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres today announced the coaching staffs for their minor league affiliates for the 2021 season.
In El Paso, Edwin Rodriguez returns for his fifth year in the Padres organization, and 2020 would have marked his second at the helm of the Triple-A club prior to the cancellation of the minor league season. Prior to El Paso, Rodriguez managed Single-A Lake Elsinore from 2017-18. In his first post with El Paso, Eric Junge will serve as the Chihuahuas pitching coach in his ninth year with the Padres. He will also continue his role as pitching coordinator, a position he has held since 2018, after serving as pitching instructor from 2015-17 and as an advance scout with the major league club from 2013-14. Hitting Coach Doug Banks enters his sixth year with the Padres and first with El Paso after being slated to serve in the same post for the Rookie-Level Arizona League Padres 2 in 2020. Banks also assumed hitting coach duties for Lake Elsinore from 2018-19, Single-A Fort Wayne in 2017 and as AZL hitting coach/amateur scout in 2016. Oscar Salazar joins the El Paso staff as fielding coach in his fifth year with the organization after previously serving as hitting coach for Tri-City from 2017-19. Salazar was slated to serve as a manager for one of the club’s two Rookie-Level affiliates in Peoria, Ariz., for the 2020 season. The Chihuahuas training staff will be led by athletic trainers Maritza Castro and Drew Garner and strength coach A.J. Russell.
After serving as the Padres Double-A affiliate for 12 years (2007-18), the San Antonio Missions return as the Padres Double-A club and will be managed by Phillip Wellman, who led the Amarillo Sod Poodles to the 2019 Texas League title. 2021 will mark Wellman’s sixth year with the Padres, his 33rd as a coach and 22nd as a minor league manager. Pete Zamora returns for his sixth year in the Padres organization and first as pitching coach for the Missions after being slated to serve as pitching coach for El Paso in 2020. He previously held pitching coach duties for Lake Elsinore from 2018-19 and for the club’s Rookie-Level affiliates in Peoria from 2016-17. Hitting coach Raul Padron returns for his sixth year with the organization and fourth with the Double-A affiliate after serving as hitting coach for Lake Elsinore in 2017 and as a coach for Fort Wayne in 2016. Freddy Flores returns for his fifth year with the Padres as a fielding coach and second with the Double-A affiliate after serving in the same capacity for Lake Elsinore from 2017-18. The Missions training staff will be led by athletic trainer Allyse Kramer and strength coach Mark Spadavecchia.
Fort Wayne will be managed by Anthony Contreras, who returns for his seventh year with the Padres, serving as manager for the TinCaps since 2016 after managing Tri-City in 2015. Jimmy Jones, who enters his 13th year with the Padres, will lead the TinCaps pitching corps after serving as the organization’s Double-A affiliate pitching coach from 2009-19, and in the same capacity for two seasons in Peoria. Hitting Coach Jonathan Mathews returns for his fifth year with the Padres after serving as a Major League coach in 2017 and as hitting coach for Fort Wayne for the 2018-19 seasons. Fielding Coach Felipe Blanco returns for his fourth year in the organization and his first with Fort Wayne after serving in the same capacity for Lake Elsinore in 2019 and Tri-City in 2018. The TinCaps training staff will be led by athletic trainers Nick Coberly and Corey Measner.
In Lake Elsinore, Mike McCoy enters his sixth year with the Padres and his first managerial post for the Storm after being slated to be at the helm for the cancelled 2020 season. McCoy managed Tri-City from 2018-19 after serving as a coach for two seasons in Peoria from 2016-17. Pitching Coach Leo Rosales enters his fourth year in the organization and first with the Storm after being slated to lead the Lake Elsinore pitching corps in 2020. Rosales served in the same capacity for Tri-City in 2019 and the AZL Padres in 2018. Hitting Coach Pat O’Sullivan enters his fourth year with the Padres and will make his debut on the Storm coaching staff in 2021 despite being slated to serve in the same role for 2020. O’Sullivan previously served as hitting coach for Tri-City from 2018-19. Fielding Coach Jonathan Meyer enters his sixth year with the Padres and first with Lake Elsinore after being tabbed to be in the same role with Fort Wayne for 2020. He previously served as fielding coach for the AZL Padres in 2019, San Antonio from 2017-18 and Tri-City in 2016. The Storm training staff will be led by athletic trainer David Bryan and strength coach Ben Loftis.
COURTESY SAN DIEGO PADRES & MLBpressbox.com
