Palm Beach Cardinals Announces 2026 Coaching Staff

The St. Louis Cardinals have announced the 2026 coaching staff for Class-A Palm Beach, led by first-year manager Rich Benjamin.

Rich Benjamin enters his second year with the Cardinals organization and his first with Palm Beach. He had previously served as the bench coach for the Florida Complex League Cardinals. Prior to his time with the Cardinals organization, Benjamin has 21 years of coaching experience, 16 of those as head coach for two NAIA programs (Indiana Wesleyan University and Judson University). He has also served as assistant coach at Olivet Nazarene University and Martin Methodist College. He has won Coach of the Year in his conference six times and was named 2023 NAIA Regional Coach of the Year after the IWU Wildcats finished fifth in the NAIA World Series. He has a combined 14 total championships and over 550 career wins.

Evan Johnson is entering his first season in the Cardinals organization and will be acting as the 2026 pitching coach. Previously the assistant coach with the Youngstown State University baseball program, Johnson was signed as a free agent by the Seattle Mariners in 2019 and made appearances with the Tacoma Rainiers, the AAA affiliate of the Mariners. He is also the founder of Mavrik Baseball, a company that creates tailored training programs for young players through a variety of evaluations.

Hitting coach Ben Brooks is also joining the Cardinals for his first season within the organization. Brooks previously served as the assistant coach for Tennessee Tech for three years. He played at the University of Memphis for five seasons, playing more than 200 games and starting as a freshman infielder.

Bench coach Yucary De La Cruz is joining the Cardinals for his second season. Prior to his time in Jupiter, De La Cruz spent eight seasons in the New York Mets system, serving various roles in the Dominican Republic and Florida State League. He started off his career as a player in 2009 and transitioned to coaching in 2014.

Assistant coach Rodrigo Vigil joins the Cardinals for his first season. He previously served as the position coach with the Dunedin Blue Jays in the Florida State League. He also spent 11 years playing with the Miami Marlins farm system and Toronto Blue Jays, ending his career in 2021.

Jordan Hyink joins the Cardinals organization in her first season as the athletic trainer. She has previously worked with the Toledo Mudhens (Detroit AAA) and the Tampa Bay Rays Dominican Summer League.

Strength and conditioning coach Sergio Jimenez will also be joining the Cardinals organization for his first season. Jimenez previously worked with the Milwaukee Brewers organization and with the University of Minnesota.

Andrew Rankin joins the Cardinals for his second season as technology associate. Prior to his time with the Cardinals, Rankin worked with the Seattle Mariners and Atlanta Brave in Minor League technology roles.

The Palm Beach Cardinals kick off the 2026 season against the St. Lucie Mets on April 2nd. Tickets for the Florida State League season go on sale January 10th.