Arizona Diamondbacks Announce Sod Poodles 2026 Coaching Staff
TL Amarillo Sod Poodles

Arizona Diamondbacks Announce Sod Poodles 2026 Coaching Staff

Published on January 23, 2026 under Texas League (TL)
Amarillo Sod Poodles News Release


Amarillo Sod Poodles manager Javier Colina
Amarillo Sod Poodles manager Javier Colina
(Amarillo Sod Poodles, Credit: John Moore)

AMARILLO, TX - The Arizona Diamondbacks today announced coaching staffs for their minor league affiliates, naming Javier Colina as field manager of the Amarillo Sod Poodles for the 2026 season. Rounding out the coaching staff are two returning Amarillo staff members from the 2025 season as well as the addition of four new coaches for the upcoming campaign.

Colina, 46, returns for his second season as the Amarillo skipper after making his Sod Poodles managerial debut last year. He led the team to a 71-67 regular season record and a spot in the Texas League playoffs after clinching the Second Half title in the South Division with a 39-30 record. Amarillo's 71 wins in 2025 were the third-most in a Sod Poodles season in club history. This season will be Colina's fifth as a field manager for an Arizona affiliate, having managed the Arizona League Diamondbacks (2017), High-A Hillsboro (2019, 2024), and Single-A Visalia (2021) in addition to managing the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League in 2023. In total, he has amassed a career managerial record of 264-287 (.479) over 551 games.

The 2026 season will be Colina's 12th year coaching in the Diamondbacks' system and fourth overall as a member of the Sod Poodles staff, having served as bench coach in 2022 and again in Amarillo's 2023 Texas League Championship season. A Venezuelan native, Colina had a 14-year playing career (1998-2012) spanning over 1,100 games in the minor league farm systems of the Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago White Sox. He was a career .263 hitter and collected 235 doubles, 30 triples, 81 home runs, 519 RBI, and 70 stolen bases.

Gabriel Hernandez also returns for his second season as pitching coach in Amarillo after leading the Sod Poodles' staff to their third-best season from a team ERA (4.98) perspective since 2021. Prior to last season, Hernandez spent two years as the pitching coach for High-A Hillsboro. He has also served as a pitching instructor at the Arizona Complex League and as a scout for the Diamondbacks. Hernandez played nine seasons in the minor leagues with eight different organizations, accumulating 397 career pitching appearances. He was drafted in the third round by the Mets in 2004 and pitched a no-hitter for the Hagerstown Suns in 2005.

Ty Wright is the final returning coach from the 2025 squad, coming back to Amarillo as hitting coach where he presided over a lineup last season that led Double-A baseball in hits (1,248) and slugging percentage (.432). Prior to Amarillo, he spent three years with the Hillsboro Hops as their hitting coach, following a one-year stint with Visalia in 2022. A former player in the Cubs organization for seven seasons (2007-2013), he batted .292 across 724 games. A graduate of Oklahoma State University, Wright was the hitting coach for the Eugene Emeralds in 2016.

The first among the three new faces in Amarillo this year will be Ronald Ramirez as he will assume duties as one of two bench coaches for the Soddies in 2026. Entering his ninth season as a coach in the Arizona farm system, he served as bench coach for Hillsboro in 2022, 2023, and 2025. He got his start in coaching as the infield coach for one of Arizona's Dominican Summer League teams in 2018 and returned to manage the Dominican Summer League team in 2019 and 2021. Ramirez, a Colombian native, played for eight years in the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals minor league systems prior to his coaching career. He also took home a silver medal with the Colombian National team during the 2010 South American Games and served as the first base coach for Columbia in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Also making his Sod Poodles coaching debut this season will be Jaime Del Valle as he will serve as the other of two bench coaches in 2026. Making his Triple-A coaching debut with the Reno Aces last season, Del Valle enters his fifth year as a coach in the Diamondbacks system. Like Ramirez, he also managed one of Arizona's Dominican Summer League teams in 2019. He has previously been a bench coach for the Visalia Rawhide during their 2024 postseason run. Del Valle enjoyed a four-year career as a catcher in the Chicago White Sox system from 2008-11. He also has international coaching experience and is expected to be on the coaching staff for Team Columbia in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Making his Amarillo coaching debut as Strength & Conditioning Coach is Joe Leo. He enters his fourth season as part of the Diamondbacks organization and most recently served on Hillsboro's staff a season ago following a stint in the Arizona Complex League.

Rounding out the 2026 Sod Poodles staff is Haruki Mukohchi, the team's athletic trainer for the upcoming season. He has been with the Diamondbacks organization since 2022 and took home honors for Northwest League Trainer of the Year in 2024 as part of Hillsboro's staff. Mukohchi has been the trainer for the Hops since 2023, and the upcoming Sod Poodles season will be his first with the Double-A squad.

Opening Day in Amarillo is just over two months away as the Sod Poodles kick off 2026 with a three-game home series against the Springfield Cardinals (Double-A, St. Louis Cardinals) with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. on April 3. Single-game tickets for the 2026 season will go on sale soon and fans can explore ticket plans and groups options.

Check out the Amarillo Sod Poodles Statistics

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Images from this story

Amarillo Sod Poodles manager Javier Colina
Amarillo Sod Poodles manager Javier Colina
(John Moore)		   



Texas League Stories from January 23, 2026


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