Dodgers Minor League system returns five managers from successful 2023 | by Cary Osborne | Feb, 2024

John Shoemaker, left, greets Emmet Sheehan and Bobby Miller on Sept. 22. Shoemaker begins his 30th season as a Dodger Minor League manager. He received the Tommy Lasorda I Bleed Dodger Blue Award on Sept. 22. (Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

The Dodgers announced their Minor League coaching staffs for the 2024 season on Friday with Travis Barbary (Oklahoma City), Scott Hennessey (Tulsa), Jair Fernandez (Great Lakes), John Shoemaker (Rancho Cucamonga), Juan Apodaca (Arizona Complex League Dodgers), Dunior Zerpa and Leury Bonilla (Dominican Summer League Dodgers) all leading their respective squads.

The Dodgers farm system returns five of their seven managers from last season, with Jair Fernandez taking over the High-A affiliate at Great Lakes after serving as the manager of the ACL Dodgers in 2023. Joining the fold in 2024 are Apodaca and Bonilla, who will manage the ACL and DSL Dodgers this season.

Apodaca, 37, played nine minor league seasons, reaching as high as Triple-A in 2013 with the Durham Bulls. He hit a combined .250 with 40 homers and 212 RBI. The backstop played 14 additional seasons in the Venezuelan League and Mexican Leagues, amassing 52 homers and 316 RBI in 603 combined games. He began his professional career with the Boston Red Sox, signing as an international free agent on March 12, 2010, out of Caracas, Venezuela.

Bonilla, 39, joins the team for his first season as a manager of the DSL Dodgers. The Dominican Republic native played 11 Minor League seasons, hitting .256 with 42 homers and 284 RBI in 834 minor league games. In his last season with Triple-A Tacoma in 2015, he hit .250 with four homers and 21 RBI. He was originally signed by the Seattle Mariners on May 11, 2009, as an international free agent.

Shoemaker begins his 30th season as a Dodger Minor League manager. He became a Dodger Minor League coach in 1981 after playing in the organization from 1977–1980. In 2023, he was the recipient of the second annual Tommy Lasorda I Bleed Dodger Blue Award, an honor given to a member of the Los Angeles Dodger community that embodies the passion, enthusiasm and love for the Dodgers that Tommy Lasorda possessed.

Last season, the Dodger minor league affiliates recorded a combined .582 winning percentage (414–297), posting the best minor league winning percentage in all of baseball. Oklahoma City, Great Lakes, Rancho Cucamonga, ACL Dodgers, DSL Dodgers Bautista and DSL Dodgers Mega all made the playoffs last season, with Oklahoma City winning the Pacific Coast League Championship and the DSL Dodgers Bautista winning the Dominican Summer League. It was the eighth straight season that the Dodger affiliates have posted a winning mark, and they are a combined 3,400–2,825 (.546) since their last losing season in 2013. The Dodgers were the only Major League organization to have a combined 400 wins and are one of three organizations with six teams with a winning percentage above .500 (Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners).

In 2023, Michael Busch, Jonny DeLuca, Bryan Hudson, Kyle Hurt, Bobby Miller, Nick Robertson, Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone, all made their Major League debuts for Los Angeles, and six of the eight players were signed or drafted by the Dodgers. James Outman finished third in the National League Rookie of the Year Award voting, clubbing 23 homers and driving in 70 RBI in his first full season with the club.

Travis Barbary (Oklahoma City Baseball Club)

The rest of the Dodger coaching staff is below:

Oklahoma City Baseball Club (AAA)
Manager: Travis Barbary
Hitting Coach: Manny Burriss
Pitching Coach: Doug Mathis
Pitching Coach: Justin DeFratus
Bench Coach: Chris Gutierrez
Athletic Trainer: Chelsea Willette
Athletic Trainer: Griffin Boyte
Performance Coach: Paul Fournier
Performance Coach: Taylor Miller
Video Associate: JD Osborne

Tulsa Drillers (AA)
Manager: Scott Hennessey
Hitting Coach: Dylan Nasiatka
Pitching Coach: Ryan Dennick
Pitching Coach: Durin O’Linger
Bench Coach: Ronny Paulino
Athletic Trainer: Jesse Guffey
Performance Coach: Ethan Quarles
Video Associate: Tyler Hollow

Great Lakes Loons (A+)
Manager: Jair Fernandez
Hitting Coach: O’Koyea Dickson
Pitching Coach: David Anderson
Pitching Coach: Richard De Los Santos
Bench Coach: Elian Herrera
Athletic Trainer: Ikuo Kato
Performance Coach: Jake Taylor
Video Associate: Colby Wyatt

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (A)
Manager: John Shoemaker
Hitting Coach: Blake Gailen
Pitching Coach: Ramon Troncoso
Pitching Coach: Sean Coyne
Bench Coach: Cordell Hipolito
Athletic Trainer: Akinori Maeda
Performance Coach: Walter Lindo
Video Associate: Dallas Young

Arizona Complex League Dodgers (Rookie)
Manager: Juan Apodaca
Hitting Coach: Kevin LaChance
Hitting Coach: Johermyn Chavez
Hitting Coach: Danny Dorn
Pitching Coach: Andres Urbina
Pitching Coach: Luis Vasquez
Bench Coach: Johan Garcia
Coach/Complex Coordinator: Fumi Ishibashi
Baseball Technology Associate: Harrison Schnurbusch
Performance Coach: Jose Gutierrez
Performance Assosicate: Adam Shwery
Athletic Trainer: Alfredo Casillas
Athletic Trainer: Zoe Hicks
Assistant Athletic Trainer: Sienna Baldwin
Video Associate: Gabriela Vitale
Video Associate: Zach Rosenberg

Dominican Summer League Dodgers (Rookie)
Manager: Leury Bonilla
Manager: Dunior Zerpa
Hitting Coach: Sergio Mendez
Hitting Coach: Juan Diaz
Hitting Coach: Audy Ciriaco
Assistant Hitting Coach: Victor Sosa
Bench Coach: Jeremy Gaines
Latin America Defensive Coordinator: Pedro Mega
Sr. Advisor, Campo Las Palmas: Antonio Bautista
Pitching Coach: Raidel Chacon
Pitching Coach: Roberto Giron
Pitching Coach: Eduardo Dominguez
Pitching Coach: Hector Rodriguez
Assistant Pitching Coach: Jesus Canizales
Assistant Pitching Coach: Jose Rodulfo
Latin America Medical Coordinator: Jorge Gonzalez
Athletic Trainer: Jorge Rodriguez
Physiotherapist: Walter LaChapel
Performance Coach: Rafa Sepulveda
Performance Coach: Rafael Figuera
Performance Coach: George Drullard
Nutrition Coordinator: Julissa Gomez
Video Associate: Andres Acosta
Video Associate: Jackson Pass
CLP Education and Projects Assistant: Jayza Rosario

First appeared on dodgers.mlblogs.com

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