OKC Dodgers Announce 2022 Coaching Staff

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma City Dodgers, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Dodgers, have announced the 2022 OKC Dodgers field staff, led by manager Travis Barbary.

Also returning to the coaching staff are hitting coach Manny Burriss and bullpen coach Justin DeFratus. Pitching coach Dave Borkowski joins OKC after spending the past three seasons in the same role with Double-A Tulsa. The team is also expected to add a bench coach to the staff prior to the beginning of the season.

Barbary is entering his 28th season in the Dodgers organization as a player, staff member or coach. In 2021, Barbary led the OKC Dodgers to a 67-62 record and second-place finish in the East Division of Triple-A West. After starting the season 4-13 through the first 17 games, Barbary helped rally the Dodgers to a 63-49 record for the remainder of the schedule.

A total of 74 players suited up for OKC during the 2021 season, as the team made 257 roster transactions. Thirty players spent time with both OKC and the Los Angeles Dodgers, not including players on Major League Rehab Assignment. Six players made their Major League debuts following the start of the Triple-A Season in early May.

Barbary was slated to be OKC’s manager in 2020 prior to the cancelation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he served as part of the coaching staff at the Los Angeles Dodgers’ alternate training site held at the University of Southern California.

During Barbary’s first season with OKC in 2019, the team posted a 62-77 record. Eight players under his tutelage made their Major League debuts with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team also set a single-season record by hitting 203 home runs and established a new club record for longest road winning streak at nine games.

Before being named OKC Dodgers manager, Barbary spent the previous 12 years as the organization’s catching coordinator. He has also served as a hitting coach and manager in the lower levels of the Dodgers’ farm system, with four total seasons managing the Rookie-Level Ogden Raptors (2003-04) and Low-A Columbus Catfish (2005-06). From 1998-2001, he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a bullpen catcher.

Originally from Easley, S.C., the 50-year-old Barbary played collegiately at Spartanburg Methodist Junior College and the University of Virginia. The former catcher spent one season playing professionally in the Dodgers organization in 1994 before transitioning to coaching.

During his first season as the team’s hitting coach, the 37-year-old Burriss oversaw an offense that belted 181 home runs – the second-most during the team’s Bricktown era – including nine grand slams, tying the team’s single-season record. OKC also tied for third in the league in runs scored, bested only by two teams that play in extreme offensive environments (Las Vegas and Reno). Two of Burriss’ hitters – Matt Davidson and Zach Reks – finished in the top four in Triple-A West among qualified players in OPS.

Burriss joined the Dodgers organization in 2019 as a roving hitting instructor. The Washington, D.C., native played professionally from 2006-18, including parts of seven seasons in the Major Leagues with the San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies. He played collegiately at Kent State University and was selected with the 33rd overall pick of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft by San Francisco.

Borkowski enters his first career assignment as a Triple-A pitching coach. He served in the same capacity for Double-A Tulsa for the 2018-19 and 2021 seasons and was part of the alternate training site coaching staff in 2020. Last season, Tulsa’s pitching staff ranked second in Double-A Central in strikeouts and was tied for second in opponent batting average. He was Tulsa’s pitching coach when the team advanced to the Texas League Finals in both 2018 and 2019, including the Drillers’ championship-winning season in 2018.

Prior to joining the Dodgers, Borkowksi was a pitching coach in the Houston Astros organization for eight seasons between 2010-17, the last two of which were spent with Double-A Corpus Christi.

Borkowski’s playing career spanned 15 seasons, and he appeared in a total of 181 career Major League games with the Detroit Tigers (1999-2001), Baltimore Orioles (2004) and Houston Astros (2006-08). Born in Detroit, Borkowski attended high school in nearby Sterling Heights, Mich., and was signed by his hometown Tigers after being drafted in 1995.

DeFratus, 34, returns as bullpen coach for a second straight season after playing for the team during parts of both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Three of OKC’s relievers made their Major League debuts throughout last season: Justin Bruihl, Darien Núñez and Jake Reed. Closer Kevin Quackenbush led the league with 23 saves while posting a 1.65 ERA.

DeFratus played professionally for 13 seasons, including each of his last two seasons in the Dodgers organization, and made 191 appearances for the Philadelphia Phillies between 2011-15. He also played in Triple-A with the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals.

After spending last season as the team’s assistant athletic trainer, Chelsea Willette has been elevated to lead athletic trainer. Yuya Mukaihara also joins the training staff after spending last season with Tulsa. Paul Fournier is the team’s new performance coach. Fournier has a total of 17 years of experience as a Major League strength and conditioning coach, including the last eight seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The OKC Dodgers open the 2022 season April 5. Single-game, season-ticket and group packages are available now for purchase. Visit okcdodgers.com or call (405) 218-2182 for more information.