Cleveland Guardians Announce 2024 Player Development Staff

Andy Tracy, Omir Santos, and Jordan Smith will return as managers of their respective Cleveland Minor League teams this season.

The Cleveland Guardians’ 2024 season will be starting soon.

The team’s spring training will begin on February 15, when their pitchers and catchers conduct their first workout. Then, Cleveland’s regular season will commence on March 28, when the team begins a four-game road series against the Oakland Athletics.

The Guardians’ 2024 Minor League seasons are then set to start soon after, with Triple-A Columbus playing its first game on March 29, and Double-A Akron, High-A Lake County, and Single-A Lynchburg each playing their first games on April 5.

On Wednesday, with the team’s Minor League campaigns around the corner, Cleveland announced its 2024 player development staff.

Here is a breakdown of the 2024 coaching staff for each Guardians Minor League team.

Triple-A Columbus Clippers

• Manager: Andy Tracy
• Bench Coach: Daniel Robertson
• Pitching Coach: Owen Dew
• Assistant Pitching Coach: Andrew Moore
• Hitting Coaches: Junior Betances and Mike Mergenthaler
• Strength & Conditioning Coach: Tyler Grisdale
• Athletic Trainer: TBD

Tracy enters his fourth season managing Triple-A Columbus, tallying a 212-211 record over the previous three years.

Columbus Clippers manager Andy Tracy is introduced prior to the MiLB Opening Night baseball game against the Charlotte Knights at Huntington Park on April 4, 2023 :: © Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Double-A Akron RubberDucks

• Manager: Greg DiCenzo
• Bench Coach: Kyle Lindquist
• Pitching Coach: Cody Buckel
• Assistant Pitching Coach: Michael Poole
• Hitting Coach: Jordan Becker
• Assistant Hitting Coach: Amanda Kamekona
• Strength & Conditioning Coach: Mo Cuevas
• Athletic Training Coordinator/Assistant Coordinator of D.R. Medical Services: Derrick Diaz

After serving as Columbus’ bench coach last season, DiCenzo enters his first season managing Akron. He replaces Rouglas Odor, who is the RubberDucks’ winningest manager in franchise history and was named Cleveland’s infield/third base coach this past November.

DiCenzo also went 141-108 as High-A Lake County’s manager in 2021 and 2022, leading the Captains to the 2022 Midwest League Championship Series.

Additionally, Kamekona is the first female on-the-field coach in RubberDucks history. Last year, she became the first woman hired to an on-field role in Guardians organization history, serving as the hitting development coach at Cleveland's Arizona Complex Academy.

High-A Lake County Captains

• Manager: Omir Santos
• Bench Coach: Marc Mumper
• Pitching Coach: Kevin Erminio
• Hitting Coach: Ordomar Valdez
• Strength & Conditioning Coach: Andrew Coleman
• Athletic Trainer: Frank Sammons
• Assistant Athletic Trainer: Matt Beauregard

Santos enters his second season managing High-A Lake County after leading the Captains to a 65-64 record last year. As a player, he spent the 2013 season with the Guardians organization, playing 62 games with Triple-A Columbus and one game with Cleveland.

Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats

• Manager: Jordan Smith
• Bench Coach: Erlin Cerda
• Pitching Coach: Tony Arnold
• Hitting Coach: Cole Nieto
• Strength & Conditioning Coach: Jack Baldwin
• Athletic Trainer: Yuka Ogata

Smith enters his second season managing Single-A Lynchburg after leading the Hillcats to a 67-64 record last year. As a player, he spent his entire seven-year Minor League career with the Guardians organization from 2011 through 2017.