Rangers Announce ‘Dads 2025 Coaching Staff
Hickory, NC- The Texas Rangers announced the 2025 coaching staff for the Crawdads with Carlos Maldonado taking over as manager for the Low-A affiliate. Maldonado arrives in Hickory for his third season as manager of the Rangers’ Low-A club, spending the previous two heading the Down East Wood Ducks to
Hickory, NC- The Texas Rangers announced the 2025 coaching staff for the Crawdads with Carlos Maldonado taking over as manager for the Low-A affiliate.
Maldonado arrives in Hickory for his third season as manager of the Rangers’ Low-A club, spending the previous two heading the Down East Wood Ducks to a .514 winning percentage and an appearance in the 2023 Carolina League Championship Series. The Venezuela native has previous managerial stints with the Dominican Summer League Rangers (2019, 2021), and the Arizona Complex League Rangers (2022) and has accumulated a .582 winning percentage. He began coaching in the Rangers organization in 2018 with Down East (then the High-A affiliate) following two seasons as a player/coach with Double-A Frisco where he coached first base and worked with the team’s catchers.
Former Lenoir-Rhyne Bear Thomas St. Clair will return to Hickory to become the Crawdads’ pitching coach. St. Clair pitched for the Bears from 2014-2017 before being drafted by the St. Luis Cardinals. After playing three seasons in the minors, St. Clair became the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at North Carolina Wesleyan College for 2 1/2 years. Since joining the Rangers, he has been a coach with the DSL Rangers and the pitching coach for the Rookie-level ACL Rangers. Last season he was the pitching coach for Down East, guiding the staff to an MiLB-best 3.02 ERA.
Brian Pozos will take on the title of hitting coach. The 2025 season will be his third leading the Rangers’ Low-A bats and fourth in the system. His initial role with the Texas organization was as a hitting coach for the ACL Rangers in 2022. Before joining the organization, he was a hitting/infield coach at Los Angeles Valley College (2020-2022) and in private instruction (2018-2022) following his college playing career.
Jorge Cortes will enter his second season as a development coach for the Rangers’ Low-A team. Prior to joining the Texas system, Cortes was with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization for six seasons. He had stops throughout their organizations including short-season Hillsboro (2017), Single-A Kane County (2018), Double-A Jackson (2019), Triple-A Reno (2021), Single-A Visalia (2022) and the Arizona Complex League D-Backs Red (2023). Cortes also served as a hitting coach for the Colombian team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Wes Hunt will come to Hickory to be a development coach and another returning member of Maldonado’s Low-A staff. Hunt spent 13 years as a collegiate coach. His stints include Nevada-Las Vegas (2011-2015), Ranger College (2015-2016), Texas-Permian Basin (2018-2020), Campbell University (2020-2022), Tarleton State (2016-2018, 2022-2023), and El Paso Community College (2023).
Garrett Enders will be the athletic trainer for the 2025 season. Enders will be in his fifth season with the Rangers, spending last season as the team’s rehab athletic trainer. He has also served as the athletic trainer for the DSL Rangers (2022-2023) and an athletic training intern in Down East. He holds a master’s degree in athletic training from Manchester University.
Mauro Castillo will handle the strength and conditioning coaching duties for the Crawdads. The past two seasons he was a coach at the Rangers’ Arizona Complex. He spent three years Co-Owner, Director of Coaching and Education at Rotonda CrossFit, a gym in the Dominican Republic, his native country. He also completed a strength and conditioning internship with Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach Gardens in Florida.
The Crawdads will open the season on the road in Kannapolis on Friday, April 4th. They will open the home portion of their schedule on Tuesday, April 8th against the Augusta GreenJackets.