Brewers' 2025 minor league coaching staff keeps stellar group mostly intact

Three Milwaukee Brewers affiliates reached the playoffs in their respective last season, with the High A affiliate Wisconsin Timber Rattlers even making the championship series. The organization once again figures to have a top 10 farm system and has announced their coaching staff for the minor league affiliates, including one former player making his coaching debut.

Single A: Carolina Mudcats Coaching Staff

2024 Carolina League Manager of the Year Nick Stanley returns as manager of the Carolina Mudcats, his second year in the role. Stanley led Carolina to the postseason last year, and been part of the Brewers organization for 8 years now, having been a bench coach in Biloxi, hitting coach with the Timber Rattlers, as well as with the then Rookie-level Rocky Mountain Vibes in 2019. The Mudcats will have co-pitching coaches Paul Moeller and Blake Nation. Both are in their first years with the Mudcats, but have spent time with the Brewers org, with Moeller in his 6th year, and Nation in his 3rd season.

Austin Turner returns as hitting coach, his 4th season with the organization, having previously spent time with the Brewers Dominican Summer League squads prior to last season. Ricky Caravajal serves as associate coach, with Matt Pawlik and James Buckley rounding out the staff as the athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach, respectively.

High A: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Coaching Staff

Coming up one game short of the 2024 Midwest League Championship, reigning Manager of the Year, Victor Estevez also returns to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Estevez has actually won back to back awards, winning the 2023 Carolina League honor, prior to last season's nod with the T-Rats.

Estevez will lead a brand new staff, at least, new to the Timber Rattlers. Michael O'Neal will serve as the Timber Rattlers pitching coach, after serving in the same role in Carolina last season. Evan Berliner will serve as the hitting coach, after spending 2024 as the hitting coach for the team in the Arizona Complex League. Marcelo Alfonsin, like O'Neal, bumps up from Carolina last season, and will serve as a unspecified coach. He previously has managed teams in the Astros system in the Dominican Summer League, and served as a pitching coach for the 2022 Argentinian team in the World Baseball Classic.

Tommy McManus returns to the Brewers system, serving as an associate coach for Wisconsin, after spending 2024 with the Tri City Valley Cats in the Frontier League. McManus was previously in the Brewers system in 2023 with Arizona Complex League team. Paul Gonzales was named Athletic Trainer, with Luis Rios-Reyes as Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Double A: Biloxi Shuckers Coaching Staff

After stepping away from the team due to health reasons last June, Joe Ayrault returns to manage the Biloxi Shuckers at the Double A level. Ayrault has been a manager in the Brewers organization at various levels going all the way back to 2010. Biloxi returned to the postseason last year, after clinching the second half division title.

Josh Spence will serve as the pitching coach this year, having filled that role with Timber Rattlers for the back end of 2023, and all of 2024. Prior to that, Spence was the bullpen coach in Biloxi in the first half of the 2023 season, and as one of the Brewers Arizona Complex League pitching coaches. Hitting coach Kevin Martir is in his first season with the Brewers organization, after 5 years in the Yankees system, and 1 with the Phillies. Liu Rodriguez will serve in an unspecified coaching role in his 12th year in the Brewers organization.

Former Brewers pitcher Tyler Thornburg makes his coaching debut in 2025, serving as an associate coach. Thornburg was drafted by the Brewers in 2010, and made his way through the minors, before joining the big league squad in 2012.

Thornburg would spend his first few seasons bouncing between Triple A and Milwaukee, as well as missing most of 2014 with injury. 2016 was a breakout season for him, where he set the franchise record for a relief pitcher with the most consecutive innings without allowing a baserunner. Thornburg was traded to Boston for Travis Shaw, Mauricio Dubon, Yeison Coca, and Josh Pennington, and would spend time with the Red Sox, Reds, Braves, and Twins before hanging up the cleats in 2022.

Matt Lipka will serve as another associate coach, also in his first year coaching after a 12 year professional career, including time with the Triple A Nashville in 2021 and 2022. Benny Arroyo serves as the team Athletic Trainer, and Grant Kastelan as the Strength and Conditioning coach.

Triple A: Nashville Sounds Coaching Staff

The winningest manager in Nashville Sounds history, Rick Sweet, returns for his 5th straight season at the helm of the Sounds. Sweet is in his 12th year as the Brewers Triple A manager, with his first season coming with Nashville, then the Colorado Sky Sox, and San Antonio Missions, as the team transitioned through various Triple A affiliates. David Tufo returns as bench coach and 3rd base coach, his 2nd season in Triple A, and 5th as part of the Brewers farm system.

Justin Meccage and Bryan Leslie will split the pitching coach role. Meccage comes from the Pirates organization, having spent the last 5 years as the bullpen coach on the big league staff, and two seasons as the Pirates associate pitching coach.

Leslie is in his 5th year with the Brewers, and in his first year as a coach, having spent the last 4 in the Brewers famed "pitching lab". Tim Doherty and Zack Jones split hitting coach duties in 2025. Doherty served in the same role for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers last season and had previously been with the Nationals and Rockies organizations. Jones is in his first season with the Brewers system.

Eric Bunnell will be tabbed as the 1st base coach, and serve in an unspecified other coaching role, in his first year with the Sounds after 20+ years of coaching, mostly at the college level. Jeff Paxson will once again be the Athletic Trainer, his 9th total with the Sounds, and 4th straight. Paxson is one of the more accomplished Athletic Trainers in baseball, as the 2024 IL Athletic Trainer of the Year, and the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainer Society's Minor League Athletic Trainer of the Year. Andrew Emmick rounds out the staff as the Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Last, the Brewers did announce their full Player Development and High Performance staff to social media, which can be seen below. Former big league pitcher Carlos Villanueva and Ned Yost IV are among names fans may recognize.

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