Dunedin Blue Jays Announce 2020 Coaching Staff

The Toronto Blue Jays have announced the on-field coaching staff for the Dunedin Blue Jays 2020 season. Donnie Murphy begins his first season as a manager after spending the last four years as a hitting coach, most recently with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Matt Hague moves up from Low-A Lansing as the new hitting coach for 2020. He begins his second season coaching in the organization and played one season with the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2015 season. Pitching Coach Antonio Caceres ("CAH-ser-us") also comes over from the Lansing Lugnuts serving in the same position going into his 21st season with the Blue Jays. George Carroll will serve as the position coach in 2020 after working in the Gulf Coast League in 2019. Taylor Hill begins his first season in the Blue Jays organization as a Development Coach. Luke Greene joins Dunedin as the athletic trainer from the Vancouver Canadians, and Justin Batcher comes to Dunedin as the strength and conditioning coach after spending last season with the Lansing Lugnuts. Leila Hughel-Deeds rounds out the on-field staff joining the Blue Jays as the Dietitian for Dunedin.
Donnie Murphy takes over as manager in the 2020 season after 2019 manager, Cesar Martin, was promoted to manage the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Martin finished the season with an 80-55 record and earned the first and second half North Division champion honors. 
As the hitting coach in New Hampshire, Murphy's team finished with a .238 AVG, 244 2B, 94 HR, and a .682 OPS. Donnie Murphy was the hitting coach in Dunedin during the 2018 season when the Blue Jays were second in the Florida State League in AVG (.268), runs (617), hits (1221), OPS (.722), and third in RBI at 569. Murphy looks to continue to build on the success he had as a hitting coach in the past and transition that success in his first managerial role. Prior to coaching, Murphy played nine seasons in the MLB wih five different teams ending his career with the Texas Rangers in 2014. Murphy finished his career with a slash line of .212/.279/.395. 
Matt Hague joins Dunedin after serving as a Hitting Coach for the Lugnuts in his first season with the Toronto organization. Hague's hitting instruction led to a power lineup that hit 106 home runs with 555 RBI and a team OPS of .722. He comes over as last year's Dunedin Blue Jays finished first in the FSL in runs scored (609), 2B (220), RBI (557), OBP (.339), and OPS (.710). Hague played three seasons in the Majors, two season with the Pittsburgh Pirates and one season with the Toronto Blue Jays. 
Pitching Coach Antonio Caceres comes to Dunedin after spending the last two seasons with the Lansing Lugnuts. Caceres signed with the Blue Jays when he was 17-years-old from Couti, Dominican Republic. He played four seasons in the organization, three in the Dominican Summer League and one at the Rookie Level, before transitioning into a coaching role in 1999. This is Caceres first season with the Dunedin Blue Jays looking to help build on a rotation that finished as one of the top performers in the Florida State League last season. 
Position Coach George Carroll enters his third season of coaching in the Blue Jays organization beginning in the Gulf Coast League. Carroll took on a coaching role after two years playing in the Blue Jays system and one season in the Independent Atlantic League for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. He has focused mostly on instruction with the catchers in the system after playing catcher his whole career before retiring from baseball.

Development Coach Taylor Hill is originally from Old Hickory, Tennessee, Hill was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 6th round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt University. He pitched in the Majors during the 2014 and 2015 season. Last pitched for the San Francisco Giants organization in 2018. He will be instrumental with helping players develop through data and analytics.
Luke Greene begins his third season with the Toronto Blue Jays as the athletic trainer, previously working with the Vancouver Canadians in 2019 and the Bluefield Blue Jays in 2018.
Justin Batcher studied at LaGrange college in Georgia getting his Exercise Science and Masters of Strength and Conditioning. Batcher has made a jump in the system each season beginning in 2018 with the Bluefield Blue Jays and spent last season with the Lansing Lugnuts.
Leila Hughel-Deeds comes to Dunedin after completing her Master's degree in Exercise Physiology at Valdosta State University. She most recently worked as a nutrition coach for Tandem Nutrition.
The Dunedin Blue Jays are the High Class-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays and a member of the Florida State League. The Blue Jays open up the 2020 season on the road for a two-game series against the Clearwater Threshers beginning on Thursday, April 9. Dunedin plays their first home game at the renovated TD Ballpark on April 11 with a magnet schedule giveaway along with a surprise t-shirt for fans.

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