Rodney Linares (born August 7, 1977) is a Dominican–American

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. Linares played as an infielder at the Rookie-level of minor league baseball in 1997 and 1998. Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, he threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

, stood tall and .

Career

He became a coach and instructor for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

at the age of 21 in 1999, and spent two decades in the Astro organization as a batting coach and minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. He is the son of thheh Dominican baseball player Julio Linares, a member of the Houston organization since 1973 as a coach, manager, special assignments scout and key official for the club's operations in the Dominican Republic. Julio also spent three years (1994–96) as a coach for the MLB Astros. After becoming a manager in the Astro organization in 2007, Rodney Linares oversaw the development of such players as

José Altuve José Carlos Altuve (; born May 6, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball second baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Astros signed Altuve as an amateur free agent in 2007, and he made his major league debut ...

Alex Bregman Alexander David Bregman (born March 30, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a high school sophomore at Albuquerque Academy in 2010, Bregman became the ...

Carlos Correa Carlos Javier Correa Oppenheimer Jr. (born September 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, who selected him first overall in the ...

, J. D. Martinez and

George Springer George Chelston Springer III (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Houston Astros from 2014 to 2020. The Astros selected Springer i ...

. In 2018, he managed the Triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in do ...

to an 82–57, first-place finish in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

's Pacific Northern Division; he led the Grizzlies into the second round of the PCL playoffs, where they fell to the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. Between 2012 and 2016, his teams qualified for the playoffs in five straight seasons, and Linares won the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

's Manager of the Year Award in 2013 and the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

Manager of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Write ...

in 2015. His minor-league managerial record over 12 seasons (2007–18) is 762–697 (.522); he has also helmed clubs in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

and the

Dominican Winter League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Domi ...

. He makes his winter home in

San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís is a city and Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') in the Dominican Republic and the capital of the San Pedro de Macorís Province, San Pedro de Macorís province in the east region of the ...

. The Rays hired Linares as their third base coach in November 2018. In November 2022, he was promoted to bench coach after incumbent

Matt Quatraro Matthew John Quatraro (born November 14, 1973) is an American professional baseball former minor league player and minor league manager, and the current manager of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was previously the bench ...

was hired as the manager of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linares, Rodney 1977 births Living people Dominican Republic baseball coaches American baseball coaches American sportspeople of Dominican Republic descent Gulf Coast Astros players Gulf Coast Tigers players Major League Baseball third base coaches Minor league baseball managers Sportspeople from Brooklyn Baseball players from New York City Tampa Bay Rays coaches