Cardinals announce 2022 Springfield coaching staff

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The St. Louis Cardinals have announced that Jose Leger will return as the manager of the Springfield Cardinals for the 2022 season, his second with the team.

Additionally, Darwin Marrero will return for his fifth season as the Cardinals pitching coach and Tyger Pederson will return for his second season as the Cardinals hitting coach.

Leger (leh-HAIR), 39, enters his fifth season with the Cardinals and his second as a manager within the organization. Before Springfield, he served as the St. Louis Cardinals Latin American Field & Academy Development Coordinator since 2017.

Leger also spent eight seasons (2010-17) as a manager within the New York Mets organization, where he held a managerial record of 389-368 with the Dominican Summer League (DSL) Mets 1 (2010-11), Rookie-level Kingsport Mets (2012-14), Low-A Savannah Sand Gnats (2015) and Low-A Columbia Fireflies (2016-17).

Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republican, Leger attended Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia. He was signed as a Non-Drafted Free Agent by the Minnesota Twins on June 28, 2004 and spent three seasons in the organization's system (2004-06), primarily as a third baseman and catcher, rising as high as Double-A New Britain (Eastern League) in 2006.

“The announcement of our coaching staff is always an exciting one as it means Cardinals baseball is right around the corner here in Springfield with Opening Day this year on April 8,” Springfield Cardinals Vice President/General Manager Dan Reiter said. “We’re very excited to be able to welcome back Jose as our manager for a second consecutive season after being such a great ambassador for our organization in 2021. We’re also thrilled to hear that Darwin—who has become a favorite of ours and of our fans—will return for a fifth season, and that we’ll be able to continue to see Tyger develop the talented hitters that come through Springfield on their way to St. Louis.”

Marrero, 41, is beginning his 10th season in the Cardinals organization and fifth with Springfield. Ten current members of the St. Louis Cardinals 40-man roster have come through Springfield since Marrero’s tenure began in 2017. Marrero's career with St. Louis began as pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Cardinals (Rookie) from 2013-14, followed by the same role with the State College Spikes (Class-A) from 2015-17.

Prior to joining the Cardinals system, Marrero was pitching coach for the Sioux City Explorers in the American Association (2008). In 2005, he was pitching coach for the Capitales de Quebec in the Can-Am League while also throwing 38 innings as a player. Marrero's playing career spanned seven seasons from 1998-2004 with the Montreal Expos organization, attaining his highest level at Double-A with the Harrisburg Senators in 2002 and 2004.

Pederson, 32, will begin his second season as Springfield's hitting coach and fourth in the Cardinals organization. Springfield ranked T7th in Double-A with a .254 batting average and T5th with a .339 on-base percentage in 2021. Pederson also oversaw the first two players in Springfield history to hit three home runs in a regular season game, with Nolan Gorman first accomplishing the feat on June 12, 2021 at Hammons Field.

In 2019, Pederson was the hitting coach for the Palm Beach Cardinals (High-A). Prior to joining the Cardinals, Pederson was manager of the Duluth Huskies in 2018--leading the team to the Northwoods League Division Championship--and an assistant coach for Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo's baseball team, also in 2018. He managed the Orange County Riptide to a California Collegiate League championship in 2017, earning CCL Manager of the Year Honors.

In 2013, the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him with their 33rd round pick in the June 2013 First-Year Player Draft. Pederson played one year of professional baseball in the Arizona League. He is the son of former Dodgers outfielder Stu Pederson, and his older brother is a former All-Star outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers and a member of the 2021 World Series Champion Atlanta Braves. His sister, Jacey, played soccer for UCLA. He resides in Palo Alto, Calif.

The Cardinals are also excited to welcome an entirely new training staff, with Alex Wolfinger entering his first season as Springfield's athletic trainer and Donald Trapp entering his first season as Springfield's strength and conditioning coach. Additionally, Adam Harband will join the Springfield staff as a Minor League Fellow.

Fans can visit springfieldcardinals.com/memberships and springfieldcardinals.com/tickets today for 2022 ticket information.