Atlanta Braves announce Mississippi coaching staff for 2021

PEARL - Today the Atlanta Braves announced the organization's minor league coaching staffs for the 2021 season.

Former major league catcher Wyatt Toregas (tuh-ray-gus) will lead the 2021 Mississippi Braves and become the club's eighth field manager. Joining Toregas on the staff will be pitching coach Dan Meyer and hitting coach Einar Díaz. Both are returning to the Braves organization but will be coaching in their first seasons with Mississippi. Dan Leja is the club's athletic trainer, and Ryan Meehan is the strength coach.

Toregas, 38, is a former catcher who played in 22 major-league games across two seasons with Cleveland (2009) and Pittsburgh (2011). After spending the previous five minor-league seasons managing in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, the upcoming campaign will be his first with the Braves, including most recently with High-A Bradenton in 2019. in fives seasons, Toregas holds a 293-263 (.527) record as a skipper.

"I am extremely excited to be a part of the Mississippi Braves staff for the 2021 season," added Toregas. "I believe I can speak for everyone when I say that the return of minor league baseball in 2021 is a step in moving back to a state of normalcy. This pandemic has caused a strain for everyone in some way or another and I hope that we can bring some joy back to the people of this community through the connection with the players and staff on this team."

A native of Reston, Virginia, and a Chickasaw citizen, Toregas played three years of college ball at Virginia Tech before being selected in the 24th round by Cleveland during the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. He hit every level of the Indians minor league system before eventually making his major league debut with the Indians on August 1, 2009, one day after regular catcher Victor Martinez was traded to the Boston Red Sox. He went 1-for-5 with an RBI in his debut against the Detroit Tigers.

Toregas spent 2012 as a player-coach for Indianapolis before getting the call to be a part of Clint Hurdle's staff with the Pirates, doing advance video work scouting future opponents during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. In 2015 he was named the West Virginia Black Bears' inaugural manager and led the club to a New-York Penn League championship in Morgantown's first two seasons. In 2015, he guided the West Virginia Black Bears to the New York-Penn League championship in his first season as a minor league manager.

Toregas spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons as the manager for the Low-A West Virginia Power.

Meyer, 38, enters his first season as M-Braves pitching coach and seventh overall with the Braves. Meyer attended James Madison University and is a native of Woodbury, New Jersey. Meyer was a former first-round pick of the Braves in 2002 who played parts of five seasons with the Braves, Oakland Athletics, and Florida Marlins as a left-handed reliever. Meyer made his major league debut for the Braves in 2004; he gave up no runs in two innings. The Braves won the division that year, and Meyer was the youngest pitcher on a staff whose age averaged 30.1 years old. Meyer became the key prospect in a major trade with the Oakland Athletics in December 2004, being sent to Oakland alongside pitcher Juan Cruz and outfielder Charles Thomas for Tim Hudson.

Meyer has played a vital role in developing many current Atlanta Braves pitchers, including Ian Anderson, Mike Soroka, Max Fried, and others. The New Jersey native became a coach with the Danville Braves in 2014 and was promoted to Minor League Pitching Rehab Coordinator by the Braves before the 2015 season. He served as pitching coach for the Rome Braves from 2016-2018 and Florida Fire Frogs in 2019. He was scheduled to return to Florida in 2020 before the season was canceled due to Covid-19.

Díaz, 48, (Ay-NAR) enters his first season as hitting coach with the M-Braves and second in the Braves organization. Diaz spent his first season with the organization as a coach with Triple-A Gwinnett following six seasons (2013-18) on the Major League staff of the Baltimore Orioles. He assisted in all aspects of Orioles coaching from 2016-18 after spending 2013-15 as the assistant hitting coach. Díaz's 12-year coaching career includes five seasons in the Orioles minor league system and two spent as the manager for rookie-level Bluefield (2009-10), where he compiled a record of 56-80 (.412). He also served as the field coach at four different levels, including the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles (2008), Short-A Aberdeen (2008), Double-A Bowie (2011), and Class-A Delmarva (2012).

A native of Chiriquí, Panama, Díaz was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent in 1990 and went on to play 11 Major League seasons as a catcher with Cleveland (1996-2002), Texas (2003), Montreal (2004), St. Louis (2005), and LA Dodgers (2006). He batted .254 with 21 home runs and 202 RBIs in 673 regular-season games and appeared in 11 postseason games with the Indians (1998-99, 2001).

Opening Day for the Mississippi Braves is set for Tuesday, May 4 at 6:35 pm against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos at Trustmark Park. Fans can guarantee their seat with 2021 season tickets. Also currently available are flex plans, group tickets, suite nights, and sponsorship opportunities. View ticket options HERE. Individual game tickets will go on sale to the general public in April. For more information, fans are encouraged to visit milb.com/mississippi/tickets or call 601-932-8788.