Rangers Announce Express Field Staff
ROUND ROCK, Texas - For the second consecutive year, the Round Rock Express will have a new face to lead the team in 2015 as the Texas Rangers announced their minor league coaching staffs Thursday afternoon. Former major leaguer Jason Wood will take over the reins in 2015 becoming the sixth manager in franchise history. He replaces former manager Steve Buechele who was named to the Rangers major league coaching staff.
Hitting coach Justin Mashore, pitching coach Brad Holman, strength coach Ric Mabie and athletic trainer Jason Roberts are all returning to the staff. Spike Owen, who served as an Express coach from 2002-06 and again from 2011-14, has been named manager of the Rangers High-A affiliate High Desert Mavericks.
Wood, 45, joins the Express coaching staff after spending the past season with the Rangers' Double-A affiliate Frisco RoughRiders, leading them to the Texas League playoffs with a league-leading 80 wins. Prior to joining Frisco, he managed the Rangers former High-A affiliate in Myrtle Beach from 2011-13, making the playoffs in each of those three seasons. He was named Carolina League Manager of the Year in 2013 after leading the Pelicans to a 77-62 record. Baseball America named Wood the Carolina League's top managerial prospect in its best tools survey in both 2012 and 2013. The Fresno, California native is entering his seventh year as a coach in the Rangers organization and fifth as a manager after spending the 2009-10 seasons as a hitting instructor at High-A Bakersfield.
Wood played professionally for 18 seasons as an infielder from 1991-2008, including time with Oakland, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Florida. He was originally drafted by Oakland in the 11th round of the 1991 June Draft and made his major league debut with the Athletics on Opening Day 1998. He saw big league action in parts of five seasons and finished with a .245 average, five home runs and 36 RBI over 153 games.
The 2015 season will mark the third with the Express for Holman after spending the 2012-13 campaigns with Myrtle Beach. Under his guidance, the Express pitching staff, which featured 26 different starters, had a league-leading seven complete games in 2014.
Mashore returns to the Express for his second season as hitting coach after spending the 2013 season with Class-A Hickory in the same capacity. He led an Express offense that featured 38 different hitters in 2014 and totaled 62 10-plus hit games.
Roberts is entering his fifth season as athletic trainer with the Express and his ninth with the Rangers organization. He was selected as the athletic trainer for the Pacific Coast League team in the 2014 Triple-A All-Star Game and received the league's Trainer of the Year honors. Mabie is back for his fifth season as the Express' strength and conditioning coach and 12th season with the Rangers.
The Express open the 2015 season on the road Thursday, April 9 against the newly rebranded Oklahoma City Dodgers. They return to Dell Diamond for their home opener on Friday, April 17 against the Memphis Redbirds.
For more information on the Express, visit www.RoundRockExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook and Twitter!