WooSox Name Field Staff for 2026 Season
WORCESTER, MA—The Worcester Red Sox and Boston Red Sox are pleased to announce that Chad Tracy will return for his fifth season as WooSox manager for the 2026 season. Additionally, the clubs announced that pitching coach Dan DeLucia, hitting coach Collin Hetzler, defensive coach Iggy Suarez, bullpen coach Noah Junis,
WORCESTER, MA—The Worcester Red Sox and Boston Red Sox are pleased to announce that Chad Tracy will return for his fifth season as WooSox manager for the 2026 season. Additionally, the clubs announced that pitching coach Dan DeLucia, hitting coach Collin Hetzler, defensive coach Iggy Suarez, bullpen coach Noah Junis, and player development/hitting advisor Rich Gedman will all resume their roles on the Worcester coaching staff this coming season. Additionally, Johnny Reina has been named WooSox assistant hitting coach replacing Doug Clark while Brendan Connelly, the WooSox development coach for the past four seasons, will be Boston’s new Assistant of Player Development and will not be replaced. Furthermore, Scott Gallon (5th year) and Nick Kuchwara (4th year) are back as WooSox athletic trainers while Nick LaRue returns for his second season as Worcester’s strength & conditioning coach.
Boston Red Sox Senior Director, Player Development Brian Abraham made the official announcements of all Red Sox Minor League Field Staffs.
Chad Tracy returns for his fifth season as WooSox manager in 2026. Tracy earned the 300th victory of his Worcester managerial career on August 31, 2025 in Durham. He has a 309-285 record since taking over as WooSox manager for the 2022 season. “Trace” has had winning seasons in each of his first four years at the helm of the WooSox and is the first Red Sox Triple-A manager to accomplish that feat dating back to at least the 1930’s.
Chad Tracy became the sixth manager in modern Red Sox organizational history to reach the 300-win plateau with a Red Sox Triple-A affiliate. Joe Morgan is the all-time leader with 601 wins in his nine years as Pawtucket Red Sox manager (1974-82), followed by other PawSox managers – the late Buddy Bailey with 502 wins in seven years (1993-96, 2002-04), the late Ron Johnson with 357 victories in five years (2005-09), Kevin Boles with 345 wins in his five years as Pawtucket manager (2014-18), and Ed Nottle with 302 wins (1986-90). Chad had 176 wins in three years as a Minor League manager in the Los Angeles Angels’ system from 2015-17 giving him a total of 485 career managerial wins.
Tracy, 40, was named as the second manager in Worcester Red Sox history on December 13, 2021. He led the WooSox to their aforementioned fourth consecutive winning in 2025 going 76-73. He had back-to-back 79 win campaigns in both 2024 (79-71) and 2023 (79-68). His first WooSox club in 2022 finished 75-73.
Tracy, who goes by the nickname “Trace”, has sent a number of Worcester players to Boston during his tenure including most recently OF Roman Anthony, INF Marcelo Mayer, and LHPs Connelly Early & Payton Tolle who all earned their first-ever promotions to Boston last season. Other current Red Sox who have played for Tracy in Worcester include: OF Wilyer Abreu, RHP Brayan Bello, INF/OF Kristian Campbell, 1B Triston Casas, RHP Kutter Crawford, OF Jarren Duran, INF Romy Gonzalez, RHP Tanner Houck, OF Ceddanne Rafaela, INF Nick Sogard, and catcher Connor Wong among several others.
Chad led the 2024 WooSox to another successful season despite the busiest year of player moves in Red Sox Triple-A history. The ‘24 WooSox built on a pair of all-time Red Sox Triple-A records as they made 281 player transactions during the 2024 campaign and set a new all-time Red Sox Triple-A record for players appearing in a single season. The WooSox used 84 different players in 2024 (37 position players and 47 pitchers).
For all that and more, “Trace” has been chosen by his peers in the International League as the “Best Managerial Prospect” in the league in a poll conducted by “Baseball America” during both the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
Tracy was a star catcher at Pepperdine University where he was the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2005 when he led the WCC with a .367 batting average. He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. In nine professional seasons, all in the minor leagues (2006-13) and independent Atlantic League (2013-14), Chad hit .267 with 159 home runs and 706 RBI. He reached Triple-A in 2010 with Oklahoma City and in 2011 with Round Rock (both Texas Rangers’ AAA affiliates) and had his best season with the Express in 2011 with 26 HR, 109 RBI, and 80 runs scored in 134 games.
He began his managerial career in 2015 with Burlington (Iowa), the Angels’ low-A affiliate in the Midwest League. Jim Tracy, Chad’s father, played in the Major Leagues and served as a big league manager for 11 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2001-05), Pittsburgh Pirates (2006-07), and Colorado Rockies (2009-12).
Chad currently lives in Fairfield, OH (just outside of Cincinnati) with his wife Emily and their 11-year-old daughter Avery and 7-year-old son Austin.
The list of all-time Pawtucket and Worcester Red Sox managers.
*Worcester manager
Darrell Johnson: 1973
Joe Morgan: 1974-1982
Tony Torchia: 1983-1984
Rac Slider: 1985
Ed Nottle: 1986-1990
Johnny Pesky: 1990
Butch Hobson: 1991
Rico Petrocelli: 1992
Buddy Bailey: 1993-1996, 2002-2004
Ken Macha: 1997-1998
Gary Jones: 1999-2001
Ron Johnson: 2005-2009
Torey Lovullo: 2010
Arnie Beyeler: 2011-2012
Gary DiSarcina: 2013
Kevin Boles: 2014-2018
Billy McMillon: 2019 & 2021*
Chad Tracy: 2022-2026*
Johnny Reina has been promoted from Double-A Portland to be the new WooSox assistant hitting coach in 2026. Reina worked with several of the top Red Sox position prospects last season with the Sea Dogs including INF Franklin Arias, OF Miguel Bleis, and INF Mikey Romero.
A Pennsylvania native, Johnny ironically got his start in professional baseball as a Sales Executive with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2018. During that time he also worked at Antonelli Baseball in Boston and that led to an internship with acclaimed Driveline Baseball, a date-driven training center. Reina eventually became a hitting trainer at their facility in Washington state.
A former infielder at Morehead State University and later Tusculum University, Johnny was named as Portland’s assistant hitting coach in November of 2024.
Dan DeLucia is back for his third season WooSox pitching coach. He replaced Paul Abbott who held that role the first three seasons in Worcester (2021-23). A former Minor League pitcher in the Detroit and Toronto systems and a standout lefty hurler at Ohio State University, Dan was the Red Sox Minor League Rehab Pitching Coach in 2023 (his first season in the Red Sox organization).
DeLucia worked with a new single-season Red Sox Triple-A record 47 different pitchers in 2024 and helped 19 of them earn promotions from Worcester to Boston (not counting Red Sox rehabbing pitchers). Among the notable pitchers on DeLucia’s staff for parts of the past two seasons were Hunter Dobbins, Shane Drohan, Connelly Early, Richard Fitts, Kyle Harrison, Zack Kelly, Chris Murphy, Quinn Priester, and Payton Tolle (all in 2025) as well as Cam Booser, Greg Weissert, and Josh Winckowski in 2024.
Dan remains near the top of many Ohio State Buckeyes’ pitching records, ranking 5th with 317.1 innings pitched, tied for 11th with 24 wins and tied for 16th with a 3.91 ERA. He was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 35th round of the 2008 June draft and pitched in Single-A for the Tigers and Blue Jays before his pro career ended in 2011.
DeLucia eventually returned to Ohio State as a volunteer assistant coach and ultimately their full-time pitching coach.
Collin Hetzler joined the WooSox hitting coach ranks in 2025 and will again work with Rich Gedman, the Red Sox Player Development Hitting Advisor, and newcomer Johnny Reina.
In 2024, Hetzler finished his second season as hitting coach for the Syracuse Mets of the International League. It was also his fourth season in the New York Mets’ organization. He spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons as the Mets’ complex hitting coordinator at New York’s spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, FL. In 2022, Hetzler was named the Mets Minor League Staff Member of the Year.
The Fort Worth, TX native played two seasons of college baseball at Galveston College before playing his final two collegiate seasons at Houston Baptist University in 2011 and 2012. He had a .328 batting average during his two seasons with Houston Baptist and was named to the Great West Conference All-Tournament Team in both 2011 & 2012.
Hetzler was an assistant coach for the baseball team at Houston Baptist in 2015, 2016, and 2017, and he earned an MBA from Houston Baptist University in 2017.
Prior to joining the Mets, Hetzler worked as a hitting trainer and the operations manager at Driveline Baseball in Kent, WA. Driveline is a data-driven baseball development program.
Boston Red Sox and Worcester Red Sox Hall of Famer Rich Gedman, who grew up around the corner from Polar Park on Lafayette Street in Worcester, MA, was the first hitting coach in WooSox history in 2021 and handled those duties through the 2024 season. In 2025 he was promoted to a new role as Boston’s Player Development Hitting Advisor and once again this season will work with his hometown team when the WooSox play at Polar Park. Rich’s mark of 10 seasons as Red Sox Triple-A hitting coach (dating back to Pawtucket in 2015 through 2024 in Worcester) is easily the longest tenure of any Red Sox Triple-A hitting coach in franchise history.
In his five seasons with the WooSox, “Geddy” has helped players such as Triston Casas, Jarren Duran, Connor Wong, Wilyer Abreu, David Hamilton, Ceddanne Rafaela, Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, Nate Eaton, and Nick Sogard produce fine offensive seasons and all earn promotions from Worcester to Boston.
Gedman was elected to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame (Class of 2020 along with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez) and was officially enshrined prior to a game at Fenway Park during the 2022 season. He was voted to the new WooSox Hall of Fame in February of 2024 and was inducted prior to a game at Polar Park during the 2024 season.
Rich began his professional baseball career in 1977 when he was signed by Boston as a non-drafted free agent out of St. Peter-Marian High School in Worcester. He played 13 major league seasons with the Red Sox (1980-90), Astros (1990), and Cardinals (1991-92), batting .252 with 88 home runs in 1,033 games. He was named an American League All-Star in 1985 and 1986 and on April 29, 1986 he caught Roger Clemens’ 20-strikeout performance against the Mariners.
Gedman ranks fourth in club history in games caught (858) behind only Jason Varitek, Carlton Fisk, and Sammy White. In 2012 he was one of 40 players recognized on the All-Fenway Park Team.
Rich and his wife Sherry currently live in Framingham, MA.
Iggy Suarez, who had been the manager for the Red Sox Single-A affiliate the Greenville Drive for seven years and six seasons of play (2018-2024), joined the WooSox as their Defensive Coach in 2025. A former infielder in the Red Sox system between 2003-2009, Iggy reached Triple-A Pawtucket in 2009. He finished his playing career in the Independent Atlantic League from 2010-13 before transitioning to a coaching role.
Suarez was born, raised, and still lives in New York. He was selected by the Red Sox in the 24th round of the 2003 Draft out of Texas State University. He spent most of four seasons with Double-A Portland from 2006-09 before finishing the 2009 season with the PawSox (20 games).
He began his coaching career as hitting coach for the former Lowell Spinners (Boston’s short-A affiliate) in 2015 before becoming Lowell’s manager in 2016-2017. Promoted to Greenville in 2018 he had been at the helm of the Drive since until now joining the WooSox.
Suarez led Greenville to the South Atlantic League Championship in 2023 behind a team that included Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Blaze Jordan, Marcelo Mayer, Chase Meidroth, and Kyle Teel.
Noah Junis returns to the Worcester staff for his third year as bullpen coach in 2026. He had spent three years (2021-2023) as Assistant Director of Pitching at Premier Pitching Performance Center, a private pitching organization in St. Louis. Prior to that he had been Director of Pitching and a Throwing Trainer at Push Performance in Arizona.
Noah’s passion for coaching began largely while working with his older brother Jakob who is currently with the Cleveland Guardians after several strong seasons with Kansas City (2017-2021), San Francisco (2022 & 2023), and Milwaukee (2024).
Junis was a baseball and football standout at Rock Falls Township High School in Rock Falls, Illinois. He graduated in 2016 and then went to Arizona State University where he graduated in 2020. He began his coaching career as pitching coach at Illinois Central College in 2020.
Here is the complete listing for all Red Sox Minor League Field Staffs for the 2026 season:
Boston Red Sox Minor League Field Staffs:
Triple-A Worcester
*New to staff ^New to organization
Manager
Chad Tracy
Pitching Coach
Dan DeLucia
Bullpen Coach
Noah Junis
Hitting Coach
Collin Hetzler
Assistant Hitting Coach
Johnny Reina*
Defensive Coach
Iggy Suarez
Athletic Trainers
Scott Gallon, Nick Kuchwara
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Nick LaRue
Johnny Reina joins Worcester’s staff as Assistant Hitting Coach after serving in the same role for Double-A Portland in 2025.
Double-A Portland
*New to staff ^New to organization
Manager
Chad Epperson
Pitching Coaches
Juan Rivera
Assistant Pitching Coach
Isaiah Paige
Hitting Coach
Trevor Burmeister^
Assistant Hitting Coach
Elijah Boyer^
Defensive Coach
Kyle Sasala
Athletic Trainers
Bobby Stachura, Kelsey Branstetter*
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Jonah Mondloch
Trevor Burmeister has been hired as Hitting Coach after serving in the same role for High-A Spokane of the Colorado Rockies organization in 2025. Elijah Boyer has been hired as Assistant Hitting Coach after working for Driveline Baseball in Scottsdale, Arizona. Kelsey Branstetter will serve as one of the club’s Athletic Trainers after having the same role with High-A Greenville in 2025.
High-A Greenville
*New to staff ^New to organization
Manager
Liam Carroll
Pitching Coach
Bob Kipper
Assistant Pitching Coach
Andrew Sadoski
Hitting Coach
Jarrett Pico*
Assistant Hitting Coach
Cody Gracco^
Defensive Coach
Tyler Snep
Athletic Trainer
Marissa Sciabarra*
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Dan Rosen
Jarrett Pico joins Greenville’s staff as Hitting Coach after serving in the same role for the FCL Red Sox in 2025. Cody Gracco has been hired as Assistant Hitting Coach after working for Driveline Baseball. Tyler Snep has been named Defensive Coach after serving as Assistant Hitting Coach for Greenville in 2025. Marissa Sciabarra will serve as the club’s Athletic Trainer after having the same role with Single-A Salem in 2025.
Single-A Salem
*New to staff ^New to organization
Manager
Ozzie Chavez
Pitching Coach
Alex Reynolds
Assistant Pitching Coach
Brenden Argomaniz
Hitting Coach
Nelson Paulino
Assistant Hitting Coach
Ivan Quackenbush^
Defensive Coach
Kyle Schmidt
Athletic Trainer
Jessica Von Kessel*
Strength & Conditioning Coach
J.P. Echeverria^
Ivan Quackenbush joins Salem’s staff as Assistant Hitting Coach after working for Driveline Baseball in Seattle, Washington, and as an Assistant Coach for Maryville University of Saint Louis. Jessica Von Kessel will serve as the club’s Athletic Trainer after having the same role with the FCL Red Sox in 2025. J.P. Echeverria has been hired as Strength and Conditioning Coach after serving as Assistant Sports Performance Coach for the ACL Athletics in 2025.
Fort Myers Complex
*New to staff ^New to organization
Manager
Chase Illig
Pitching Coaches
Michael McCormick, Oscar Lira*
Hitting Coaches
Junior Zamora, Jack Simonetty
Complex Defensive Coach
Steven Su*
Athletic Training Assistant
Hiro Nagaoka^
Strength & Conditioning Coach
TJ Jackson
Jack Simonetty joins the FCL Red Sox' staff as Hitting Coach after serving as Single-A Salem’s Assistant Hitting Coach in 2025. Oscar Lira has been named Pitching Coach after serving in the same role for the DSL Red Sox in 2025. Steven Su transitions into Complex Defensive Coach after serving as Minor League Taiwanese Translator in 2025. Hiro Nagaoka has been hired as Athletic Training Assistant after spending 2025 as an Athletic Trainer Next Gen Intern with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Dominican Republic Academy
*New to staff ^New to organization
Managers
Sandy Madera, Amaury Garcia
Pitching Coaches
Bryan Delgado, Rafael Feliz, Matt Wheeler
Hitting Coaches
Edwin Rodriguez, Juan Hernandez, Wade Satzinger^
Coaches
Claudio Sanchez, Leonel Vazquez
Development Coach
William Flanders*, Ivan Valera^
Athletic Trainers
Pedro Wilson, Jharvyn Velasquez, Milagros Suero^
Strength & Conditioning Coaches
Juan Castillo, Antonio Diaz, Danny Gutierrez
Bryan Delgado transitions into the DSL Red Sox’ Pitching Coach after serving as Development Coach in 2025. Juan Hernandez transitions into the DSL Red Sox’ Hitting Coach after serving as a Coach in 2025. Wade Satzinger has been hired as Hitting Coach after working as a Hitting Trainer based out of Austin, TX. William Flanders has been named Development Coach after serving as Minor League Video & Technology Associate based out of Salem, VA. Ivan Valera has been hired as Development Coach. Milagros Suero joins the DSL Red Sox’ staff as Athletic Trainer after working as an Athletic Trainer for the Leones del Escogido of the Dominican Winter League. Juan Castillo has been promoted to Strength and Conditioning Coach after serving as Strength and Conditioning Coach Assistant.