Nationals Name 2026 Farm Managers, Coaches
Absent an official press release from Washington as in years past, here’s what I was able to synthesize from the team press releases…
* = New Position for 2026 | ** New Assignment for 2026 | Italics = New to the organization
ROCHESTER
Manager – Matthew LeCroy
Hitting Coach – Brian Daubach
Asst. Hitting Coach* – Travis Fitta
Pitching Coach – Fernando Nieve
Asst. Pitching Coach* – Sam Narron**
Athletic Trainer – Eric Montague
Asst. Athletic Trainer* – Vanessa Weisbach
Strength/Conditioning – Mike Warren
Assoc. Strength/Conditioning* – Amanda Means
Defensive Coach* – Mario Lisson**
Quality Control & Development* Coach – Anthony Deleo
HARRISBURG
Manager – Delino DeShields
Hitting Coach – Darin Everson
Pitching Coach – Rigo Beltrán
Asst. Pitching Coach* – Pete Horner
Athletic Trainer – Don Neidig
Assoc. Athletic Trainer* – Brooke Boggs
Strength/Conditioning – Ryan Grose
Assoc. Strength/Conditioning – Juan Carlos Gonzalez
Defensive Coach* – Nik McClaughry
Coach on Staff* – JT Heenan
WILMINGTON
Manager – Ted Tom
Hitting Coach – Hudson Byorock
Pitching Coach – Justin Lord**
Asst. Pitching Coach* – Niko Leontarakis
Athletic Trainer – Kirby Craft
Assoc. Athletic Trainer* – Brandon Harrist
Strength/Conditioning – Jordan Chen
Assoc. Strength/Conditioning* – Preston Fausnaught
Defensive Coach* – Mitchell Boe
FREDERICKSBURG
Manager – Chris O’Neill
Hitting Coach – Jake Scheiner
Pitching Coach – Luke Dziados
Asst. Pitching Coach* – Luis Villanueva
Athletic Trainer – Jacob Meyer
Strength & Conditioning Coach – Mike Reiskind
Assoc. Strength/Conditioning Coach* – Zac Watkins
Coach on Staff* – Isaac Kim
Defensive Coach* – Anthony Ray
It’s unclear if or when there might be a press release regarding the FCL and DSL, but if one emerges, this post will be updated.
Suffice it to write, that’s a lot of new faces. But it’s to be expected with a regime change and what can only appear to be an effort to modernize the organization.
UPDATE
No official press release (unless you count MASN) but here’s the rest of the coaches
FCL
Mangaer – Carmelo Jaime
FCL Hitting Coach* – Ender Chávez
Complex Hitting Coach* – Cole Evans
Pitching Coach – Franklin Bravo
Pitching Coach – Justin Simanek
Complex Defensive Coach* – Cayden Phillips
Complex Development Coach* – Josh Freligh
Complex Development Coach* – Daniel Minter**
Athletic Trainer – Nitfrancis Marrero
Associate Athletic Trainer – TBA*
Strength & Conditioning Coach – Nathan Sier
Associate Strength & Conditioning Coach* – Gehrig Spradlin
DSL
Manager – Sandy Martinez
Academy Hitting Coach* – Alan Mejia
Asst. Hitting/Outfield Coach* – Freddy Guzman
DSL Hitting Coach* – Rafael Ozuna
Academy Pitching Coach* – Blaise Martinez
DSL Pitching Coach – Feliberto Sanchez
DSL Assistant Pitching Coach – Niomar Gomez
Academy Defensive Coach* – Brenny Escanio
Catching Coach – Jeremy Bautista
Athletic Trainer – Isaac Adornetto
Associate Athletic Trainer – TBA*
Strength & Conditioning Coach – Santo Del Rosario
Strength & Conditioning Coach – TBA*
Academy Administrator – Eduardo Castro
Administrative Assistant – Lorena Rosario
And the non-affiliate-specific folks…
Assistant Director, Player Development – John Wulf
Assistant Director, Player Development – David Longley
Manager, Player Development – Patrick Coghlan
Director, Minor League and Florida Operations – Ryan Thomas
Manager, Minor League Operations and Education – Andrew Scarlata
Assistant, Minor League Operations – Julia Petrovich
Assistant, Florida Operations – Daniel Crooks
Coordinator, Minor League Video – Allan Bekerman
Strength & Conditioning Coordinator – Gabe Torres
Assistant Coordinator, Strength & Conditioning – Shane Hill
Coordinator, Minor League Medical – Toby Williams
Assistant Medical Rehab Coordinator – Jeff Allred
Latin American Training Coordinator – Manny Moore
Physical Therapist – James Wood
A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens
Dietitian – Nikki Fioretti
Director, Defense, Baserunning & Game Play – Jeremy Barnes
Complex / Defensive Coordinator – Jeremy Sheetinger
Infield Coordinator – Jason Wood
Outfield / Baserunning Coordinator – Chris Prieto
Catching / Game Play Coordinator – Jake Lowery
Director, Hitting – CJ Gillman
Coordinator, Hitting – Russ Steinhorn
Coordinator, Hitting – Phillip Cebuhar
Director, Pitching – Grayson Crawford
Coordinator, Pitching – Sean McGrath
Coordinator, Pitching – Will Hawks
Rehab Coordinator – Dan Mahoney
Pitching Rehab Coach – Eddie Cheong
Senior Advisor, Player Development – Dave Jauss
Advisor, Player Development – Gerardo Parra
That’s roughly four dozen new coaches/personnel. It’s all well and good, but if there’s one thing I’d like to see it’s not having to make jokes about the utter lack of hitting as I have had to do (ok, maybe not “had”) for most of this decade.
A lot of new (young) faces AND new positions. There’s at least 3 new coaching staff at each level, compared to last season. Let’s hope this pays off in developmental returns!
At this rate we will have a coach for every player in a couple years. I am interested to see if we do see improvement across all levels this year.
Ty Bothwell another midwestern kid like Jackson Kent who spent some time in Indiana Hoosiers where he probably crossed paths with the pitching coach added by the young Turks
It seems they’ve heard my rants of several years regarding my belief that there was something inherently wrong in the way this org was running it’s strength and conditioning program given the insane number of our pitching prospects needing TJ surgery
Aside from wholesale changes and additions at the minor league level didn’t they also change their strength and conditioning coach at the major league level as well ?
All this to say I can bet my life that we will hear way fewer stories of kids blowing out their arms within 2 or 3 years after drafting them as was previously the case
Maybe someone else can find the answer about the Nats MLB-level strength and condition coach. The official Nats website identifies the new coaching staff, but no strength and conditioning coach is listed. Last year (and for several seasons before that) the head SC Coach was Brett Henry. FWIW, his linkedin page lists his current job as the head SC Coach for the Nats, but couldn’t find any confirmation of that on the Nats’ end.
With all the new faces coming in I have to smile as an old ex – po fan seeing the Red Sox lynx reeling in one of Felipe Alous ole disciples from West Palm Beach spring days
Dave Jauss . Maybe we should give him a Luke Skywalksr cake with hood to anoint his wisdom and years in the game .
The other guy who intrigues me is the new Wilmington skipper . Nice
Tapestry of experience in the game at various levels .
I swear the Nats are using the waiver wire this week like the drunk in London seeing which call girl phone number isn’t rubbed out in the ole phone booth .
The Nats are the most interesting rebuild to watch all year in MLB cause the new regime must wait on so many players especially pitchers on the MASH unit .
Plus the new methods being brought in to shift players paradigms is so crucial to see what sticks with whom who elevates .
I’m not being negative asking this but
But
Why is a pitcher added to AAA roster from Iowa who has half the number of IP logged logged in his
K total ‘?
I can just hear don rickles one word opinion : stiff !
One more thing ! I do agree with the poor broadcast vision maintaining a sub standard team
Fransen is better suited for color commentary on ESPN with 2 am corn hole or non stop poker .
There are so many talented multi sport announcers who honed their craft through the ranks or even at universities like Syracuse University ( didn’t Bob Costas go there ? )
I have a guy in mind who calls games for the AHL Rockford Ice Hogs
Dana Grey who replaced a fine talent in the guy who now calls radio for the Utah Mammouth .
Dana Grey sounds like a blend of Chip Carey and our friend Bob Carpenter .
Nats brass better get used to strong opinions cause long losing rebuild seasons lead to one thing first
Heavy drinking
lol
Stay thirsty my friends
lol
Speaking of Chip Carey, I discovered at Nats Fantasy Camp last week that Tyler Clippard does a seriously good impression of Chip Carey’s dad!
The Tsung-Che Chung era in DC ended quickly and abruptly:
The Nationals have claimed RHP George Soriano off outright waivers from the Atlanta Braves and DFA’d Tsung-Che Cheng, who was claimed by Washington two days ago.
Can a six year rebuild be done with good karma in healing pitchers rebounding , several free agency added quite significant and the culture re orchestrated mentally and physically
Within 3 years ?
It seems the “claim game” works like this (for players less than 3 years of service):
Claim player A
Claim B and DFA/waive player A [can be the next day if you want]
If player A is claimed basically nothing happened
If player A is not claimed, player A is outrighted and provides org depth
Claim player C and DFA player B
repeat process with player B
etc.
Some players have already been claimed and DFAed by 3 different teams this off season. I guess if you can obtain org depth this way you get younger players than minor league free agents.
Good resource! You must have had a Dickens of a time putting it together.