The Los Angeles Dodgers announced their 2017 Minor League coaching staffs, and among the affiliates to not see any changes was Triple-A Oklahoma City. The club is coming off an 81-60 record and American Northern Division title.
OKC reached the Pacific Coast League Championship, but fell to El Paso (San Diego Padres). Bill Haselman returns for a second season as manager and he’s joined by pitching coach Matt Herges, hitting coach Shawn Wooten and coach Luis Matos.
Overall, the 2017 season will mark Haselman’s fourth year in the Dodgers organization and seventh as a Minor League manager. He was named manager of OKC last year, after guiding High-A Rancho Cucamonga to a California League title in 2015.
Haselman has previously managed affiliates of the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim, and filled multiple coaching roles on the Major League level for the Boston Red Sox.
Herges enters his seventh season as a pitching coach in the Dodgers organization. The 2016 OKC pitching staff set the modern era PCL single-season record with 1,245 strikeouts.
The team’s 3.72 ERA ranked second in the PCL, and Oklahoma City posted season-best marks in runs allowed (583), hits allowed (1,190) and walks (372) during the PCL era.
Prior to joining OKC in 2016, Herges was the pitching coach for Double-A Tulsa. Herges was joined on the Drillers staff, and subsequently in making the jump to Triple-A, by Wooten.
Wooten was the Drillers’ hitting coach during the 2014-15 season, and prior to that spent four seasons in the Padres system, including three as manager.
Matos served as Oklahoma City’s primary third base coach and outfield coach in his first year coaching at the Triple-A level. Matos is credited for aiding Micah Johnson and Rob Segedin grow more comfortable in outfield roles.
Matos joined the Dodgers organization in 2015 as manager of Low-A Great Lakes.
The Dodgers also announced the Drillers and the Quakes are returning their respective coaching staffs for the 2017 season.
