ST. PETERSBURG — Jared Sandberg has a pretty good idea what he's getting into as the Rays' new Triple-A manager, having played parts of five seasons in Durham and for both the highly successful skippers who held the job previously, Bill Evers and Charlie Montoyo.
"Both Bill and Charlie managed me in the minors, and the tradition they set in Durham makes for some pretty big shoes to fill," Sandberg said Wednesday, "but I feel like I can handle it and I'm up to the challenge."
Sandberg, 36, spent parts of three seasons with the Devil Rays during a 12-year playing career and the past seven on staff, managing his way up from short-season Hudson Valley to Class A Bowling Green to advanced Class A Charlotte last season. He is the nephew of Hall of Famer and current Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg.
"I feel like my experiences will allow me to deal with a lot of the challenges at Triple A," he said.
Sandberg replaces Montoyo, who was promoted to big-league third-base coach. He is joined by new pitching coach Kyle Snyder, promoted from coordinator after Neil Allen was hired by the Twins, and holdover hitting coach Dave Myers.
The Rays named two other new managers: Michael Johns continued his upward climb with a promotion from Bowling Green to Charlotte; and Reinaldo Ruiz gets his first managerial assignment at Bowling Green after 10 years as a coach, most recently at rookie-level Princeton.
The Rays also hired two first-time coaches, naming longtime, and well-liked, minor-league catcher Craig Albernaz to the Princeton staff and former big-league pitcher Brian Reith to Hudson Valley. Also, Jorge Moncada was promoted to assistant pitching coordinator, filling the void from Snyder's promotion. For coaching assignments at all seven Rays affiliates, go to tampabay.com/rays.