Willie Romero, veteran championship manager, takes the helm. 

2024 DUST DEVILS COACHING STAFF ANNOUNCED

February 17, 2024

The Tri-City Dust Devils, proud High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, will have a new manager in charge of the club for the 2024 season. Willie Romero, who served as hitting coach for the Single-A Inland Empire 66ers in 2023, will take the helm for the Dust Devils, the Angels announced Friday.

The 49-year-old native of Maracay, Venezuela has managed in Minor League Baseball before, leading both the Leones de Yucatan (2012, 2015-2017) and the Acereros de Monclova (2013) of the Mexican League. Romero also managed this winter in Puerto Rico, taking the Cangrejeros de Santurce to a regular season title. Romero has a bit of baseball experience in south-central Washington, playing for the Yakima Bears in his first season of professional baseball in 1993.

Tri-City will have a mostly new coaching staff in 2024, with only bench coach Trevor Nyp, returning to the Tri-Cities for a second season. The two new coaches for the Dust Devils will have some familiarity with the Pacific Northwest, though, having been teammates on the 2004 Seattle Mariners.

Veteran major-league pitcher Ron Villone will serve as Tri-City’s pitching coach for the upcoming season. Villone pitched for 11 MLB teams over a 15-season career, including pitching twice for the Seattle Mariners (1995, 2004-2005), the organization that drafted him in the 1^st round (14^th overall) of the 1992 MLB Draft. He served as a pitching coach in the Chicago Cubs organization from 2012 through 2023.

New hitting coach Hiram Bocachica played 50 games as an outfielder for the Mariners in 2004, as part of an eight-season career in the bigs which included time with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2000-2002), Detroit Tigers (2002-2003), Oakland Athletics (2005-2007), and the San Diego Padres (2007).

Trevor Nyp returns as bench/infield coach after serving in that role for the Dust Devils in 2023. The Kitchener, Ontario, Canada native joined the Angels in 2019 as an infield/defensive coach for the Single-A Burlington Bees of the Midwest League. Nyp served in a similar role for Inland Empire in the 2021 and 2022 seasons before moving up to the High-A level in 2023.

The three coaches from the 2023 staff not returning to the Tri-Cities all remain in the Angels organization. “Cactus” Jack Howell, who managed the Dust Devils in 2022 and 2023, has moved to the role of player development staff coach for all of the Angels organization. Pitching coach Doug Henry, who served as Tri-City pitching coach from 2021-2023, moves to the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas as assistant pitching coach under 2021 Dust Devils manager Andy Schatzley. Last season’s hitting coach Ryan Sebra will serve in a similar role with the Angels’ Arizona Complex League squad.

Tri-City will also have a new athletic trainer, with Koki Ikeda taking over for Dylan Culwell. Culwell, the 2022 Northwest League Trainer of the Year, will move up to Double-A Rocket City to be their athletic trainer. The Dust Devils will also have a new game planning strategist, Michael Snow, and Spencer Bayes will take on the role of video assistant. As well, Joseph Rossman continues in his role of clubhouse manager for a second season, assisted by Joe Creason.

Lastly, Tri-City will have a new strength and conditioning coach whom the Angels will announce at a later date. Luis Cervantes, who held that role for the Dust Devils in both 2022 and 2023, will take on similar duties with the Arizona Complex League Angels.

“We’re excited to welcome Willie Romero and the entire 2024 Dust Devils coaching staff to the Tri-Cities,” says Derrel Ebert, the Dust Devils’ Executive Vice President and General Manager. “We’re looking forward to working closely with them. With their leadership in the clubhouse and on the field, it’s going to be another exciting season of affordable family fun at Gesa Stadium!”

Tri-City opens their 2024 season Friday, April 5-7 with a three-game series on the road against the Eugene Emeralds. The Dust Devils then come back to Gesa Stadium for their Home Opener on Tuesday, April 9, when they begin a six-game series with their Inland Northwest rivals, the Spokane Indians. Ticket packages for the upcoming season are on sale now, beginning at just $120, with full-season tickets starting at $495. Season Tickets and Mini-Plans can be reserved by contacting the Dust Devils Front Office at (509) 544-8789 or by visiting the Dust Devils website at www.dustdevilsbaseball.com.

Dust Devils Baseball… “It Will Blow You Away!”