Guardians announce Greg DiCenzo to return to lead 2025 RubberDucks Field Staff
(AKRON, OHIO) January 30, 2025 – The Cleveland Guardians announced their 2025 Player Development staff assignments, returning seven members of the 2024 coaching staff to Akron. Greg DiCenzo returns for his second season as RubberDucks manager. Returning to the staff alongside DiCenzo from 2024 will be Jordan Becker as a
(AKRON, OHIO) January 30, 2025 – The Cleveland Guardians announced their 2025 Player Development staff assignments, returning seven members of the 2024 coaching staff to Akron. Greg DiCenzo returns for his second season as RubberDucks manager.
Returning to the staff alongside DiCenzo from 2024 will be Jordan Becker as a hitting coach, Michael Poole as a pitching coach, Derrik Diaz as athletic trainer, Karina Gonzalez as assistant athletic trainer, Mo Cuevas as strength & conditioning coach, and Seth Caddell as development coach. The newcomers to the 2025 staff will be Ian Forster as a hitting coach, Kevin Erminio as a pitching coach, and Marc Mumper as bench coach.
“We are excited to welcome Greg DiCenzo back to Akron,” RubberDucks President and General Manager Jim Pfander said. “It is exciting to bring back so many members of the staff that helped bring postseason baseball back to downtown Akron last summer. I can’t wait to see this staff and the players take the field at Canal Park on April 8.”
Manager Greg DiCenzo enters his fifth season with the Guardians organization. The 2024 season will be DiCenzo’s second as RubberDucks manager, and fourth as a manager in the Guardians organization. He guided the RubberDucks to an 80-58 record and an Eastern League playoff appearance in 2024.
Prior to becoming Triple-A Columbus’ bench coach in 2023, DiCenzo spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as the manager in High-A Lake County. He guided the Captains to a 141-108 record in his two seasons including a Midwest League finals appearance in 2022.
A native of Duxbury, MA, DiCenzo was the head baseball coach at Holy Cross for 12 seasons prior to joining the Cleveland organization. The Crusaders went 137-109 in Patriot League play during his tenure, including a 2017 Patriot League Championship, and posted 20-win seasons in 10 of those 12 years.
Hitting Coach Jordan Becker enters his sixth season with the Guardians organization and second with the RubberDucks. In 2023, Becker served as the hitting coach for Lake County.
Becker joined the Cleveland organization in 2019 after a collegiate coaching career that saw stops at Riverside Community College and New Mexico State University.
Hitting Coach Ian Forster enters his sixth season in the Guardians organization and second season in Akron. Forster will also be a hitting coach for RubberDucks and returns to Akron after serving as the RubberDucks assistant hitting coach in 2023. He was the Arizona Complex Guardians hitting coach in 2024.
A graduate of North Olmsted High School, Forster played four years at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea.
Pitching Coach Kevin Erminio enters his sixth season in the Guardians organization and first season with the RubberDucks. Prior to coming to Akron, Erminio was the pitching coach for the Lake County Captains for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Erminio joined the Guardians organization after a collegiate coaching career that included stops as a pitching coach in Oxford at Miami University and 13 seasons at Kennesaw State.
Pitching Coach Michael Poole enters his third season in the Guardians organization and second season with the RubberDucks. He will be a pitching coach in 2025 after spending 2024 as Akron’s assistant pitching coach. Prior to joining the RubberDucks, Poole was the pitching development coach on the Arizona Complex Academy staff.
A native of Akron, Poole played at Cuyahoga Community College and Lake Erie College before starting his coaching career at Inspiration Academy (FL) in 2019. Poole was an assistant coach at LSU-Eunice for the Bengals D2 JUCO World Series Championship season in 2021.
Bench Coach Marc Mumper enters his third season in the Guardians organization and first season in Akron. He will also serve as the Guardians organization’s assistant infield coordinator. Prior to coming to Akron, Mumper spent 2024 as the bench coach for Lake County.
A native of Highlands Ranch, CO, Mumper played 157 games from 2016-19 for Grand Canyon University. He then went on to coach at the college level in several different roles from 2019-22 before joining the Guardians organization.
Athletic Trainer Derrik Diaz enters his eighth season in the Guardians organization and second season with the RubberDucks. He also serves as the Guardians organization’s assistant coordinator for Dominican Republic Medical Services. Diaz was the Eastern League Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2024. Prior to coming to Akron, Diaz served as the head athletic trainer for the Dominican Republic Complex in 2023.
Assistant Athletic Trainer Karina Gonzalez enters her third season in the Guardians organization and second season in Akron. Prior to coming to Akron, Gonzalez spent the 2023 season at the Guardians complex in Goodyear.
Strength and Conditioning Coach Mo Cuevas enters his 10th season with the Guardians organization and third season in Akron. He was the Eastern League Strength Coach of the Year in 2024. Prior to joining the RubberDucks, Cuevas served as the Guardians rehab strength and conditioning coach in 2022.
Development Coach Seth Caddell enters his second season as a coach in the Guardians organization and second season with the RubberDucks. Before joining the RubberDucks coaching staff in 2024, Caddell played in the Guardians organization for three seasons as a catcher.
The Akron RubberDucks are the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The RubberDucks season at Canal Park begins on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 against the Altoona Curve at 6:35 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets by calling 330-253-5151 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, or visit akronrubberducks.com/. For more information about the team, please call 330-253-5151, visit the website at akronrubberducks.com, Facebook page facebook.com/AkronRubberDucks, or on Twitter @AkronRubberDuck, and Instagram @akronrubberducks.