Houston Astros Promote Triple-A Hitting Coach Pena
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The Houston Astros made a change to their staff Sunday, promoting Triple-A Sugar Land hitting coach Rafael Pena to minor league hitting coordinator, Astros Dominican Summer League hitting coach Elvis Rodriguez announced.
Pena started his professional coaching career in 2018 as a development coach with the Quad Cities River Bandits — where he was a hitting coach in 2019. He was the Space Cowboys hitting coach for just one season after spending the previous year in Double-A Corpus Christi's dugout for the same position.
Before becoming a coach, the Dominican-native hit .400 in his senior season at University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, playing himself into All-Sooner Athletic Conference honors as a utility player.
Pena was appointed the hitting coach of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers in 2020, but the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He made the jump to Double-A the next season, joining the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League for October and November.
Around the Farm
Former Astros farmhand C.J. Hinojosa signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins, receiving a Major League spring training invite, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Hinojosa joins former Sugar Land teammate Alex De Goti in Jacksonville.
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