Salem RidgeYaks Announce 2026 Coaching Staff, Chavez Returns as Manager

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | January 16, 2026 | Salem RidgeYaks: (540) 389-3333 | [email protected]

SALEM, Va. — The Salem RidgeYaks, in conjunction with the Boston Red Sox, have announced their coaching staff for the 2026 Carolina League season. The staff is highlighted by the return of manager Ozzie Chavez and four coaches from the 2025 Salem staff. Nelson Paulino (Hitting Coach), Alex Reynolds (Pitching Coach), Kyle Schmidt (Defensive Coach), and Brenden Argomaniz (Assistant Pitching Coach) all return to Salem for the 2026 season.

New additions to the RidgeYaks’ coaching staff include Ivan Quackenbush (Assistant Hitting Coach), Jessica von Kessel (Athletic Trainer), and J.P. Echeverría (Strength and Conditioning Coach), completing the club’s 2026 staff.

Ozzie Chavez returns for his second consecutive season as Salem’s manager after leading the club during the 2025 campaign. Now entering his fourth season with Salem, Chavez previously spent two seasons as the club’s bench coach before being promoted to manager ahead of the 2025 season. A former 12-year minor league player, Chavez brings prior managerial experience within the organization, having managed the Red Sox Dominican Republic Academy from 2019–22, including a run to the Dominican Summer League semifinals in 2022. Chavez has been a member of the Red Sox organization since 2015.

Nelson “Pepe” Paulino returns for his 29th season in the Red Sox organization and his 10th season as Salem’s hitting coach. The longest-tenured coach in Salem baseball history, Paulino helped guide the 2025 Salem Red Sox to the highest team batting average in the Carolina League (.243). Salem also ranked among the league’s top clubs in total hits (second, 1,019), home runs (second, 77), and extra-base hits (first, 303). Paulino first arrived in Salem in 2013 and has also made additional coaching stops with the Greenville Drive and Lowell Spinners.

Alex Reynolds returns to Salem for his second consecutive season as pitching coach. Prior to joining Salem, Reynolds spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Greenville Drive, serving as a development coach before being promoted to assistant pitching coach. Reynolds grew up in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and is a former catcher at Babson College. He played a key role in pitcher development during the 2025 season. Under his guidance, 14 Salem pitchers earned promotions to High-A Greenville, while Salem pitchers collected six Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors, the most by any team in the league.

Kyle Schmidt returns for his third consecutive season in Salem and his second straight season as the club’s defensive coach. Schmidt joined the organization as a seasonal affiliate coach in 2024 before being promoted to defensive coach ahead of the 2025 season. Prior to coaching, Schmidt played professionally as a catcher in the Minnesota Twins organization from 2019–23. The University of Richmond product helped lead a Salem defense that ranked fourth in the Carolina League in total runners caught stealing in 2025.

Brenden Argomaniz enters his second season as Salem’s assistant pitching coach. Prior to his arrival in Salem, Argomaniz spent the 2024 season as the pitching coach at Division II Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania. He also pitched at Orange Coast College and the University of Richmond, where he served as a weekend starter for the Spiders. Argomaniz was also a member of a 2022 Richmond squad that finished runners-up in the Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament.

Ivan Quackenbush begins his first season coaching in the Red Sox organization as Salem’s assistant hitting coach. A native of England, Quackenbush played collegiately at St. Louis Community College and Ottawa University Arizona, graduating from Ottawa in 2021. He also represented Great Britain as a catcher on the British U23 National Team during the 2019 and 2021 European Championships. Quackenbush began his coaching career at Division II Maryville University of Saint Louis in 2022 and returned to Maryville in 2024 following a season as the Director of Baseball Operations at Division I Missouri State University in 2023.

Jessica von Kessel earned a promotion from the Florida Complex League to Single-A Salem and will serve as the RidgeYaks’ athletic trainer in 2026. A graduate of Marist University and Touro University, von Kessel spent the 2025 season in Fort Myers as the FCL Red Sox head athletic trainer and physical therapist. This will be her second season in the Red Sox organization, with previous experience including stops with the Tampa Bay Rays FCL club, the Long Island Ducks of the Independent Atlantic League, Division II Molloy College, and the Staten Island FerryHawks of the Atlantic League.

J.P. Echeverría rounds out the staff as Salem’s strength and conditioning coach. He enters his first season in the Red Sox organization after spending the 2025 season in the Athletics’ minor league system as the assistant sport performance coach for the Arizona Complex League Athletics. His previous strength and conditioning experience includes stops at Huston-Tillotson University and Jacksonville College. A 2017 graduate of the University of Texas at San Antonio, Echeverría takes over the role previously held by José Benjamin.

The Salem RidgeYaks will take the field under their new identity for the first time on Thursday, April 2, 2026, when they host the Delmarva Shorebirds on Opening Day at Carilion Clinic Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. For more information on the upcoming season, visit ridgeyaks.com or call (540) 389-3333.

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The Salem RidgeYaks are the Single-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and call Carilion Clinic Field in Salem, Virginia home. Founded in 1968, the RidgeYaks compete in the Northern Division of the Carolina League and are owned by Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH). DBH was formed in 2021 to support, promote, and enhance Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated with Major League Baseball through professional management, innovation, and investment.