Sounds Announce 2020 Coaching Staff

Darwin Barney has been named the manager of the Nashville Sounds as announced today by the Texas Rangers. Barney is set to become the 30th manager in franchise history.
Barney, 34, will be making his professional coaching and managerial debut. The Oregon native played parts of eight seasons in the big leagues. He spent time with the Chicago Cubs (2010-14), Los Angeles Dodgers (2014-15) and the Toronto Blue Jays (2015-17).
In 2011, Barney finished seventh in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. He then went on to win the National League's Rawlings Gold Glove Award for second basemen in 2012. Barney was a career .246 hitter and played in over 800 Major League games.
Barney was a standout shortstop at Oregon State University from 2005-07 where he helped the Beavers win back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007. Barney was named to several collegiate award lists, including the 2007 All-College World Series Team.
Joining Barney's staff in Nashville for the 2020 season will be pitching coach Brendan Sagara, hitting coach Chase Lambin, coach Tyler Graham, athletic trainer Carlos Olivas and strength and conditioning coach Al Sandoval.
Sagara, 44, will serve as Nashville's pitching coach in addition to his title of Special Assistant, Player Development with the Rangers. Sagara is in his first season with the Texas organization after spending the previous two years as the Minor League Pitching Coordinator for the Chicago Cubs.
Prior to his time with Chicago, Sagara spent six seasons with the Miami Marlins from 2012-17, including the final year of that span as assistant pitching coordinator. He was named the Marlins' Player Development Man of the Year in 2015. Sagara has spent the last 20 seasons in various player development/scouting roles in professional baseball.
The Hawaiian attended the University of Hawaii at Hilo and earned All-Region honors and was named the University's Male Athlete of the Year in 1995 and 1996. He pitched professionally with Evansville of the Frontier League in 1999.
Lambin, 40, will be the Sounds hitting coach in 2020. The Texas native played 13 seasons at the minor league level. He was drafted by the New York Mets in 2002 and spent time in the Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals organizations.
The 2020 season is Lambin's sixth in the Texas organization. He spent the 2019 campaign as the hitting coach for Advanced-A Down East. He previously served as the hitting coach for Single-A Hickory in 2018, Short-Season Spokane in 2017 and the Arizona League Rangers in 2016. He first joined the Rangers as a member of the Spokane coaching staff in 2015.
Graham, 35, will serve as a Nashville coach in 2020. He reached the big leagues in 2012 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and played parts of eight seasons in the minor leagues.
The 2020 season is Graham's first with the Rangers. He spent the last three years as the Director of Player Development with the Oregon State Beavers, his alma mater.
Olivas, 42, enters his second consecutive season as the athletic trainer for the Sounds. The New Mexico native spent three seasons in the same role for Triple-A Round Rock from 2016-18.
Prior to his time in Round Rock, Olivas spent the previous five seasons with Double-A Frisco, where he was named Texas League Athletic Trainer of the Year by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) in 2012 and 2013. Olivas spent eight seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization prior to joining the Texas organization in 2009.
Olivas graduated from the University of New Mexico in 2000 with a B.S. in athletic training.
Sandoval, 34, enters his second consecutive season as strength and conditioning coach for the Sounds. He was named the 2019 Pacific Coast League Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by the Professional Baseball Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society.
The Colorado native spent the 2018 season in the same role with Triple-A Round Rock. Prior to his one season in Round Rock, Sandoval spent the 2017 season with Advanced-A Down East. Before joining the Texas organization in December 2016, Sandoval spent five seasons in the Los Angeles Angels organization, including three seasons (2014-16) as the Club's minor league strength and conditioning coordinator. Sandoval began his baseball career in the Colorado Rockies organization, working as a strength coach from 2008-11.
Sandoval is a 2008 graduate of Colorado State University-Pueblo, where he was a three-year varsity letter winner for the Thunderwolves baseball team.
The 2020 season begins on Thursday, April 9 when the Sounds host the Iowa Cubs. 2020 season ticket memberships are on sale through the Nashville Sounds ticket office. For more information on membership packages, call 615-690-4487, or e-mail [email protected].