On Thursday afternoon, the Yankees announced their slate of minor league coaching staffs for the 2022 campaign. Former Baby Bomber Dan Fiorito was tabbed as the new skipper in Somerset after Julio Mosquera departed the organization over the winter to become the catching coordinator for the Chicago White Sox. The Patriots roster figures to be filled with a considerable chunk of talent moving up from High-A Hudson Valley where Fiorito helped guide that group to a division best 71-49 mark in 2021.
Dan Fiorito (Photo by Martin Griff)
“I’m honored to manage the Patriots this upcoming season. Somerset has an incredible reputation and I can’t wait to be a part of it all,” said Fiorito through a statement released by the team. “I’m excited to meet our fans and the Somerset community, it’s going to be a great season. We’re going to have some of the Yankees best talent and future stars take the field. Can’t wait for Opening Day and see you all soon!”
This move is a full-circle moment for me personally, having covered Dan as a player during his time at Double-A Trenton from 2013-2016. In total, the 31-year old Yonkers, NY native played in 332 games spanning four seasons in the Yankees system after being inked as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Fiorito was a versatile player that could play every position on the infield aside from catcher. Yeah, he even pitched five innings without allowing a run during his minor league career. He played with a lot of passion and grit and it always seemed obvious that he was destined for great things as a manager. The Yankees obviously thought so, too.
Dan Fiorito (Jessica Kovalcin)
After stepping away as a player following the 2016 season, the organization kept Fiorito in the fold as a coach and assigned him to Rookie-level Pulaski to serve as the defensive coach. He then held the same role at Low-A Charleston in 2018 before getting his first managerial opportunity in the GCL in 2019. Fiorito was announced as the manager of short-season Staten Island before the 2020 minor league season was cancelled during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Joining Fiorito in Somerset will be a good chunk of his staff from Hudson Valley last season. Pitching coach Gerardo Casadiego, entering his tenth season in the organization, will replace Daniel Moskos, who was hired to be the Chicago Cubs assistant pitching coach during the offseason. Casadiego oversaw a talented pitching staff at Hudson Valley that ranked second in the High-A East division in strikeouts (1,308, sixth in MiLB) and third in ERA (4.12). Casadiego worked with arms like Luis Medina, Hayden Wesneski, Jhony Brito, Ken Waldichuk and Randy Vasquez during various streches during that campaign. The Venezuelan native previously held the same roles in the DSL and the Appalachian League.
Entering his fourth year in the organization, hitting coach Jacob Hirst also moves up to Somerset after serving in the same role for the Renegades in 2022. On his watch, a Renegades group highlighted by Anthony Volpe. Austin Wells, Oswald Peraza, Ezequiel Duran and Josh Breaux ranked second among High-A East clubs in triples (33) and OBP (.341), third in doubles (217) and fourth in home runs (156), batting average (.255), slugging percentage (.446) and OPS (.787). The Yankees hired Hirst, an Iowa native, from Augustana College in Illinois in 2018. He served as the hitting coach in the GCL for 2019-2020 before landing at High-A last season.
Rounding out the staff will be Aaron Bossi as the defensive coach, Michael Becker will serve as the athletic trainer, Ryan Williams returns as the strength and conditioning coach. Matt Seletsky returns as the clubhouse manager, video manager Chris Nyden begins his first season with the organization along with advance scouting analyst Amanda Brady. Milton Miles will serve as the visiting clubhouse manager.
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