CLEVELAND, OH ¨C The Cleveland Guardians today announced the organizational staff alignment within the Player Development System for the upcoming Minor League season.

The Guardians Player Development system posted the second-best cumulative record (392-317, .553) among the 30 Major League organizations in 2024 (finished 23^rd in 2023), including the top mark in baseball among their four full-season affiliates in AAA Columbus (80-68), AA Akron (80-58), High-A Lake County (77-53) and Single-A Lynchburg (67-62) at 304-241 (.558). The organization recently placed six players on The Athletic Keith Law¡¯s Top 100 Prospects list, tied for second-most among the 30 systems.

Continuity abounds as the four Managers of the full-season clubs will return once again in 2025, with Andy Tracy (sixth season) steering the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, Greg DiCenzo at AA Akron, Omir Santos looking to repeat at High-A Lake County and Jordan Smith in Single-A Lynchburg. Santos¡¯ Captains are defending Midwest League Champions and were named Baseball America¡¯s Team of the Year. Juan De La Cruz moves up from the Dominican Summer League to assume ACL duties in Goodyear with Jonathan L¨®pez and newly hired Mac Seibert guiding the DSL clubs. Seibert joins the Guardians after previous stints coaching and managing in the Mets and Phillies organizations after a four-year playing career in the Tampa Bay system.

Other notable Player Development coordinator and coaching hires include:

Luis Ortiz (Special Assistant to PD/Hitting): Rejoins organization after Hitting Coach roles on several Major League staffs (Red Sox, Padres, Rangers, Dodgers) following two years in the Cleveland system from 2013-14. He appeared in parts of four ML seasons, 1993-96.

**Buck Taylor (**Asst. Field Coord.):Joins the Guardians organization after a collegiate coaching career that began in 1995 at San Francisco State. He spent the last three years at The Ohio State University following a Pitching Coordinator stint at Kansas State. Was Head Coach for 14 years (2005-2018) at Palomar Community College (CA).

Michael Peoples (Pitching Coordinator): Drafted and pitched eight seasons in the Cleveland system from 2012-19. Spent last two seasons as Pitching Coach for Seattle¡¯s Double-A club after wrapping up his pitching career in Japan in 2022.

Brian Whatley (Catching Coordinator): Spent the last five seasons as the Catching Coordinator in the Padres organization. Brandon League (AAA Pitching Coach): Veteran of 498 Major League games with Seattle, Toronto and Los Angeles(NL), earning a spot on the 2011 AL All-Star Team with the Mariners. Posted a career ML ERA of 3.65 over the span, appearing in at least 60 games five different campaigns. Honolulu native wrapped up his playing career in 2017 and has been working in the amateur baseball realm since retiring.

Matt Angle (AAA Hitting Coach): Spent 7 years as an Asst. Coach with Ohio State before recently operating his own private hitting company out of Columbus. The OSU alum played professionally for nine seasons in the Orioles, Dodgers, Marlins and A¡¯s systems.

Cam Hill (ACL Pitching Coach): Drafted in 2014 and played in the Cleveland system for eight seasons from 2014-21, appearing in 18 games during the 2020 Major League season.

Chaz Verduzco (ACL Bench Coach): Joins Cleveland after a tenure as Director of Player Performance at Minnesota State Univ.

Chris Mears (Pitching Rehab Lead): The Vancouver native spent the last 17 seasons in PD and Scouting roles in the Red Sox organization following a 10-year professional pitching career, 1996-2005, appearing in 29 games for the Detroit Tigers in 2003.

The 2025 Minor League season is currently slated to begin on March 28 (Triple-A) and April 4 (Double-A; Class-A).