Rick Ankiel hired by Nationals to mentor players in minors

WASHINGTON (AP) Former major leaguer Rick Ankiel has been hired by the Washington Nationals as a ''life skills coordinator'' to mentor players in the minors.

Ankiel retired as a player after an 11-season career that began as a 20-year-old pitcher for St. Louis and ended in 2013 as an outfielder for the New York Mets, with stops in Kansas City, Atlanta, Washington and Houston.

He played for the Nationals in 2011 and 2012.

The Nationals announced the rest of their 2015 minor league staffs Thursday, including promoting Paul Menhart to pitching coordinator and making Spin Williams a senior adviser for player development.

The club hired Bob Milacki as pitching coach at Triple-A Syracuse and Tommy Shields as a co-field coordinator.