Braves Announce 2025 Minor League Coaching Staffs

The Columbus Clingstones, Atlanta’s newly established Double-A affiliate – formerly named the Mississippi Braves – will have a new manager for the 2025 season, as Cody Gabella (4th season) joins the club after skippering High-A Rome last season. Joining Gabella on the bench will be pitching coach Mike Steed (4th season), who worked alongside Gabella in Rome, hitting coach Grant Kay (1st season) and coach Francisco Diaz (3rd season), who reprises his role from last season. Jesus Aviles (7th season) returns as the club’s athletic trainer, as does Kyle Hegedus (4th season) who will work as the strength coach.

The Rome Emperors, who enter their fifth season at the High-A level in 2025, will be managed by Angel Flores (8th season). Flores returns to his managerial post with Rome, where he managed in 2023, after spending last season at the helm of Double-A Mississippi. Joining Flores on the bench will be pitching coach Horacio Ramirez (2nd season), who served the same role last season with the rookie-level FCL Braves, hitting coach Connor Justus (2nd season), a Cartersville, Ga. native, who is making the jump from Single-A Augusta, and coach Bobby Moore (33rd season), who returns for his 12th season with Rome. Julian Rip (3rd season) will reprise his role as strength coach, while Tom Adams (3rd season) joins the club from Single-A Augusta to work as the athletic trainer.

The Single-A Augusta GreenJackets, in their fifth season as a Braves affiliate, will be led by Wynston Sawyer (3rd season), who returns for his second season at the helm. He will be joined by pitching coach Elvin Nina (8th season) and two hitting coaches; Garrett Wilkinson (5th season), who spent last season in the same role with Double-A Mississippi and Rubén Gotay (1st season), who served as Pittsburgh’s Triple-A Indianapolis affiliate’s bench/infield during the 2023 season and spent the 2024 campaign as a hitting coach in Mexico. Coach Brad Stoll (1st season) will join the professional ranks after being the head baseball coach at Lawrence High School (Lawrence, KS) since 2005. Dan Gaertner (4th season) will be the GreenJackets’ athletic trainer in 2025, after working with Triple-A Gwinnett last season. Jake Wynn (3rd season) will work as the club’s strength coach.

The rookie-level FCL Braves will have Nestor Pérez (13th season) skipper the club for the third consecutive season; a role he also held in 2019 and 2021. Pérez will be joined on the bench by pitching coach Tyler Dalton (2nd season) and two hitting coaches; Einar Diaz (6th season), who returns to the club, after spending last season with Single-A Augusta, and Adam Wood, who spent the last two seasons with the DSL Braves. Newcomers Ryan Casteel and Roman Quinn, as well as Jefferson Romero (3rd season) will work as coaches on the staff. Toni Lee and Matt Barnes will serve as the club’s athletic trainers, while Mike Wall will reprise his role as strength coach.

The DSL Braves will be managed by Maikol Gonzalez for the third consecutive season, while hitting coach Carlos Telemaco (2nd season), assistant pitching coach Samuel Tavares (4th season) and coach Leandro Mateo (3rd season) also return to the staff. Newcomers include pitching coach Andrew Cohen, hitting coach Leonardo Ferrini and coach Phil Caulfield. Chaerin Yeom will serve as the athletic trainer, assisted by Alessandro Bertozzo, while Pedro Hernandez will work as the strength coach, assisted by Mario Anguizola.

Kevin Hooper (4th season) will serve as Atlanta’s director of player development, while Paul Davis (6th season) returns in his role as the director of pitching development. The rest of the club’s coordinators are as follows: Bo Henning (5th season, pitching coordinator), Chris Swauger (4th season, field coordinator), Greg Walker (14th season, hitting instructor), JD Closser (sixth season, catching coordinator), Doug Mansolino (7th season, advisor, player development), Terry Pendleton (28th season, advisor, player development), Eric Hrycko (9th season, minor league medical coordinator), Toby Williams (4th season, assistant, minor league medical coordinator), Johnny Passarelli (4th season, minor league physical therapist), Jonathan Pabon (2nd season, assistant minor league physical therapist), Lance Carter (3rd season, rehab pitching coordinator), Jordan Sidwell (8th season, strength and conditioning coordinator), Ryan Meehan (7th season, assistant strength and conditioning coordinator), Paul Howey (1st season, roving strength and conditioning coach) and Eric Tucker (3rd season, minor league performance dietitian).