Dodgers Announce 2023 Loons Coaching Staff
MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Dodgers, are excited to announce the team’s 2023 coaching staff. Daniel Nava will take the reigns to become the 10th manager in the 16-year history of the Loons. The former big leaguer begins his third year coaching
MIDLAND, Mich. – The Great Lakes Loons, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Dodgers, are excited to announce the team’s 2023 coaching staff.
Daniel Nava will take the reigns to become the 10th manager in the 16-year history of the Loons. The former big leaguer begins his third year coaching in the Dodgers organization after managing the ACL Dodgers in 2021 and serving as bench coach for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2022.
Nava, 39, played parts of seven seasons in the Major Leagues and won a World Series title in 2013 as a key contributor for the Boston Red Sox. Nava finished eighth in the American League in batting average (.303) in that championship season for Boston. He famously hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw in his Major League debut in June of 2010 for the Red Sox. His final professional season as a player was in 2019 with the independent Kansas City T-Bones.
Joining Nava as a newcomer to the Loons coaching staff is Hitting Coach O’Koyea Dickson. Dickson, 32, returns to Dow Diamond in a coaching role after spending the 2012 season as a player with the Loons. He was drafted in the 12th round of the 2011 draft by the Dodgers, and made his Major League debut with the club in 2017. 2023 marks Dickson’s second year coaching in the Dodgers organization after he worked with Nava with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2022 as the team’s Hitting Coach.
David Anderson returns for a second season as Pitching Coach with the Loons after leading the pitching staff to the most wins in the Midwest League in the regular season last year. Anderson, 28, led the 2022 Great Lakes pitching staff to the top of the Midwest League in opponent average (.216) and the staff also topped the league in strikeouts. 2023 marks Anderson’s third year coaching in the Dodgers organization after serving as pitching coach for the ACL Dodgers in 2021 before coming to Midland last season.
Richard De Los Santos also returns for a second year on the coaching staff after serving as Assistant Pitching Coach last season. This year, Anderson and De Los Santos will share the title of Pitching Coach. The 38-year-old De Los Santos had a nine-year minor league career as a right-handed pitcher, mostly in the Tampa Bay system. De Los Santos played a portion of the 2005 season for the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays in Battle Creek, who would be purchased in 2006 by the Michigan Baseball Foundation and become the Loons in 2007.
Former Loon Elian Herrera is back for a third season as the bench coach for Great Lakes. Herrera, a four-year big leaguer, begins his fifth season as a coach within the Dodgers’ organization. The second baseman played over 20 games with the Loons in a span of two separate seasons, including the inaugural 2007 Great Lakes Loons, along with nine other future Major Leaguers.
Rounding out the staff are newcomers Ikuo Kato (Athletic Trainer) and Joe Manno (Affiliate Development Associate). Ethan Quarles will return as the Performance Coach as well.
The Loons begin the 2023 campaign on Friday, April 7 at Dow Diamond against the Lansing Lugnuts.
The Great Lakes Loons have been a partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team’s inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team’s home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.