By Doc McElroy
CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Guardians today finalized their Major League Performance and Technology Teams following internal promotions and external hirings:
PERFORMANCE TEAM
Jeff Desjardins (Head Athletic Trainer): Promoted to Head Athletic Trainer following 14 seasons in the lead assistant role. The Gorham, Maine native has been with the organization since 2001 and has been voted by his peers twice (’21, ’23) to be the AL Assistant Athletic Trainer Representative on the PBATS Executive Board.
Chad Wolfe (Lead Assistant Athletic Trainer): Promoted to the lead assistant role after joining the Major League Athletic Training staff in 2019. The Graham, NC native and East Carolina alum has been with the organization for 20 seasons dating back to 2004.
Bobby Ruíz (Assistant Athletic Trainer): Corona, CA native is in his 14th season with Cleveland after spending 2021-23 as the Athletic Training Coordinator based out of Goodyear. He previously spent 10 seasons in Athletic Training position across several club affiliates from 2011-20.
James Quinlan (Director, Major League Player Medical Services): Begins his 11th season on the ML staff, his first in this role. Previously served as the club’s Head Athletic Trainer for 10 seasons from 2014-23, joining the club in 2007. In his new capacity, James will coordinate injury prevention and rehab programs for all 40-man players.
Nelson Pérez (Assistant Major League Strength and Conditioning Coach): Returns to the Guardians organization as Assistant Major League Strength Coach after spending 2023 as the Head Strength Coach of the Detroit Tigers. Was previously with Cleveland beginning in 2007 until 2022, serving in a similar capacity from 2010-2022.
Erica Auriemme (Major League Dietitian): Joined the club in Sept. 2023. Prior to joining Cleveland, she worked with the Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox. The Chicago, IL native earned a BS in Food, Nutrition and Dietetics from Illinois State University and MS in Nutrition and Wellness from Benedictine University.
BASEBALL OPERATONS – TECHNOLOGY
Anthony D’Elia (Assistant Director, Baseball Operations-Technology): D’Elia begins his fourth season working with the Major League club in the baseball-tech space (sixth season overall with Cleveland). Anthony works alongside the coaches, players and performance staff coordinating video, data, and tech efforts. Joined the club as a baseball tech fellow in 2019 following a collegiate hockey career at Stonehill College.
Gunnar Wilhelmy (Replay Coordinator): Spent the last four seasons as an Assistant, Baseball Operations-Technology, working specifically with the Triple-A Columbus affiliate. The El Dorado Hills, CA native is entering his sixth season overall with the Guardians organization after earning a undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Missouri, working with the Tigers baseball team five and a half years.
COURTESY GUARDIANS MEDIA RELATIONS
