The Oklahoma City Dodgers, Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, announced their coaching staff for the 2023 season, and for the fourth consecutive year, they are led by manager Travis Barbary.
Additionally returning to the coaching staff are hitting coach Manny Burriss and pitching coach Justin DeFratus. After spending the past three seasons with the Texas Rangers, Doug Mathis joins DeFratus as a co-pitching coach for OKC.
Also new to the OKC staff but in the same role he had with Double-A Tulsa, Chris Gutierrez will serve as the team’s bench coach.
Entering his 29th season as a member of the Dodgers organization as either a player, staff member or coach, Barbary returns to his managerial role with OKC after leading the team to an 84-62 record in 2022 and a second-place finish in the Triple-A West East Division for the second consecutive season.
While finishing just one game shy of a first-place finish in the division, with Barbary at the helm, the former L.A. bullpen catcher and organizational catching coordinator saw the OKC Dodgers finish amongst the top three teams in the Pacific Coast League in runs scored with a team record-setting 949 runs on the year.
Before transitioning to coaching, Barbary spent one year playing professionally with the Dodgers organization in 1994.
Returning for his third season with OKC, Burriss helped them remain both powerful and patient in the batter’s box in 2022. Not only did Oklahoma City set a new aforementioned record in runs scored, but the team also drew a club record and Minor League-leading 731 walks. It is the most walks by a Triple-A team since 2004.
The Washington, D.C., native and former big leaguer for the better part of seven seasons has also offered some proven guidance at the plate to some of the Dodgers’ top prospects. M
iguel Vargas finished his season with OKC hitting for a .304 average and .915 on-base plus slugging percentage with 53 extra-base hits while James Outman collected a .292 average and impressive 1.018 OPS with 61 RBI. OKC finished with a team-wide respectable .273 average and .835 OPS.
Now in his third season with OKC, DeFratus was promoted to co-pitching coach at the age of 35.
After collecting 13 seasons of professional play, including his final two seasons with the Dodgers organization, he returns to OKC after helping the staff collect a team-wide 4.87 ERA as bullpen coach in 2022.
Chelsea Willette (athletic trainer), Griffin Boyte (athletic trainer), Paul Fournier (performance coach) and Harrison Schnurbusch (video/development) associate also are on the 2023 Oklahoma City Dodgers coaching staff.
Changes to OKC Dodgers coaching staff
A co-pitching coach with the Texas Rangers for the past two seasons, Mathis takes on the same role with OKC in 2023 in his first season within the organization.
The 39-year-old, who originally began his coaching career with the Seattle Mariners organization in 2017, was the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays) pitching coach in 2019 before joining Texas in 2020.
Under Mathis direction, along with fellow pitching coach Mike Maddux, the Rangers, despite their overall struggles, saw their team-wide ERA drop from 4.79 in 2021 to 4.22 last season.
A hitting coach within the Dodgers organization since 2018, Gutierrez received a promotion to Triple-A bench coach after spending the last two seasons within the same role for the Drillers.
Playing professionally from 2005-2013 within the Blue Jays, Los Angeles Angels, Dodgers, and Miami Marlins organizations, the 38-year-old Florida native reached as high as Triple-A while playing. Before rejoining the L.A. organization, he spent two years as a hitting coach in the Chicago Cubs’ minor league system.
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