Phillies announce IronPigs, Reading coaching staffs for 2024 season

Anthony Contreras is returning for his third season as the IronPigs manager, the Phillies said on Monday as the team announced its minor league staff.

Contreras has led Lehigh Valley to consecutive winning seasons, including an 80-66 record last year.

Hitting coach Joe Thurston also is back for a third year. The IronPigs set franchise records in home runs (213), runs (857), stolen bases (180), walks (697), OBP (.360), SLG (.462) and OPS (.822) in 2023.

Ryan Buchter returns for a second season as a pitching coach. He assisted Cesar Ramos in 2023. Ramos is the Phillies bullpen coach in 2024.

Pitching coach Tyler Higgins and bench coach Chris Adamson are new to the IronPigs staff.

Higgins begins his coaching journey after a 12-year playing career, during which he reached Triple-A and played in Japan. He drafted in the 23rd round by the Florida Marlins in 2011. Higgins played 12 professional seasons, reaching Triple-A for the first time with Tacoma in 2018 and again with El Paso in 2018-2019 and 2022. He played in Japan for the Orix Buffaloes from 2020-2021.

Adamson was bench coach in 2023 with High-A Jersey Shore. This is his fourth season in the Phillies organization as a coach. He was slated to manage the BlueClaws in 2020 before the cancellation of the MiLB season before managing the team in 2021. He then skippered the FCL Phillies in 2022, then returned to Jersey Shore in 2023.

Al Pedrique returns to Double-A Reading for a second season. The Fightins were 59-77 last year. He oversaw a roster that had 61 players pass through Reading, with 17 receiving a call up to Triple-A. Three players who were in Reading last season also appeared in big league games: Johan Rojas, Drew Ellis and Orion Kerkering.

“Getting back to Reading is always nice,” Pedrique said. “My wife and I fell in love with the town and the stadium. The front office is awesome to work with. The fan support was outstanding and we are very happy and pleased to be back in Reading.”

Phil Cundari joins the Fightin Phils as one of the team’s pitching coaches. It is Cundari’s second season with the Phillies. He spent 2023 as the pitching coach for High-A Jersey Shore. He previously spent three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, including the final two with Toronto’s High-A Vancouver.

Riley McCauley also is a first-year pitching coach in Reading after spending 2023 as the pitching coach under former R-Phils manager Shawn Williams with the FCL Phillies. It was his first full season with the Phillies as he was hired in July 2022 by the organization. Prior to joining the Phillies, McCauley spent one year as an assistant coach at Troy University in Alabama. McCauley was drafted in the 14th round  by the Cubs. The 27-year-old spent 2018 and ’19 in the Cubs system before entering coaching.

Brock Stassi returns to Reading as hitting coach after playing there in 2014-15, ’17 and ’21. This year is Stassi’s second as a coach in the Phillies organization. He served last year as High-A Jersey Shore’s hitting coach. Stassi was a 33rd-round pick by the Phillies in 2011 and made his Major League debut with Philadelphia in 2017.

Karl Ellison joins the Phillies organization for his first season in 2024 as the Fightin Phils development coach. He spent 2023 as a catcher in the Blue Jays organization. Ellison began 2022 in the Phillies organization, spending most of his time playing for High-A Jersey Shore but spent some time with Lehigh Valley. He was traded to the Blue Jays from the Phillies on Aug. 31, 2022.

Jersey Shore’s staff is: Greg Brodzinski (manager); Brad Bergesen (pitching coach); Matt Ellmyer (pitching coach); Adam Lind (hitting coach); Orlando Muñoz (position coach) and Beth Greenwood (development coach).

Low-A Clearwater’s staff is: Marty Malloy (manager), Tim Collins (pitching coach), Gustavo Armas (pitching coach), Chris Heintz (hitting coach), Mycal Jones (bench coach), John Ryan Murphy (player development instructor).

The Florida Complex League (rookie) Phillies staff is: Shawn Williams (manager), Jarrod Parker (pitching coach), Rafael De Lima (hitting coach), Jake Palomaki (hitting coach), Gary Cathcart (position coach/baserunning, coordinator), Roly de Armas (player development instructor) and Sean Rodriguez (player development instructor).

Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com