Cincinnati Reds photo / Chattanooga Lookouts manager Ricky GutierrezRicky Gutierrez was set to manage the 2020 Chattanooga Lookouts before the entire season wound up getting scratched by the coronavirus pandemic.
Provided Major League Baseball allows its minor league affiliates to play in their respective communities later this year, Gutierrez will finally get to oversee the home team at AT&T Field.
The Cincinnati Reds, the parent club of the Class AA Lookouts, announced their 2021 Chattanooga staff Wednesday afternoon, with Gutierrez being accompanied by pitching coach Rob Wooten, hitting coach Todd Takayoshi, development coach Lenny Harris, game planning coach Kyle Arnsberg, trainer Andrew Cleves and strength and conditioning coach Trey Strickland.
"We are fortunate to have a staff that blends experience and technical expertise working with our players at such a critical stage in their development," Reds player development director Eric Lee said. "I know I speak for all of our players and staff when I say that we're very excited to get back to AT&T Field and playing in front of Lookouts fans in 2021."
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred reportedly has informed the Reds and other big-league teams his intentions for a 162-game schedule in the majors and for spring training to start as scheduled, but the Lookouts do not know their 2021 schedule or how it could get altered from previous years. The Lookouts typically play a 140-game Southern League slate with 70 games in each half.
"We anticipate receiving our schedule in the next three or four weeks," Lookouts president Rich Mozingo said Wednesday.
Gutierrez spent the 2018-19 seasons managing the Daytona Tortugas to a 135-134 record in the high Single-A Florida State League. Prior to coaching, Gutierrez had a 12-year MLB playing career with six teams and was a member of the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox.
Wooten is in his first season as a professional coach. He made 71 appearances with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2013-15 and actually ended his pitching career with the 2019 Lookouts.
This will be Takayoshi's sixth season in the Reds organization and his first with Chattanooga.
Harris was scheduled to be a bench coach for last season's Lookouts and is widely recognized in the sport after hitting .269 in 1,903 big-league games that spanned from 1988 with Cincinnati to 2005 with the Florida (now Miami) Marlins. When Harris retired, he was the MLB career pinch-hits leader with 212.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.