January 19, 2023 – Texas League (TL) – Frisco RoughRiders News Release
FRISCO, Texas – The Frisco RoughRiders, in conjunction with the Texas Rangers, have announced Carlos Cardoza will manage the RoughRiders for the 2023 season. Cardoza will be joined by Josh Zeid (pitching coach), Ryan Tuntland (hitting coach), Tripp Keister (bench coach) and Kawika Emsley-Pai (development coach). Yuichi Takizawa (athletic trainer) and Jon Nazarko (strength and conditioning coach) round out the 2023 Riders staff as the only returners.
Cardoza gets the bump to Double-A Frisco in 2023 after managing with High-A Hickory in 2022 and Low-A Down East in 2021. The Puerto Rico native piloted the Crawdads to a 66-65 record last season and has amassed a 312-207 (.601) total over his six seasons as a skipper. Prior to his time in Down East, he managed the Arizona League Rangers (2019) and Dominican Summer League Rangers (2016-2019), twice reaching the championship series. Hired on by the Rangers in 2015, Cardoza was the head coach at his alma mater, Decatur High School, in Georgia for two years. As a player, Cardoza spent two seasons at Georgia State University and two years at Armstrong Atlantic State, where he was a gold glove second baseman and All-Peach Belt Conference selection.
Zeid joins the Rangers organization for his first season after serving as the rehab coordinator and minor league pitching analyst in the Chicago Cubs system for the last four years. Slated to be the pitching coach for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Zeid pitched for the Houston Astros in 2013 and 2014, amassing a 5.21 ERA over 48 appearances from the bullpen. In the minor leagues, Zeid pitched with the Corpus Christi Hooks in 2011 and 2012. A 10th-round selection by the Phillies in 2009, the New Haven, Connecticut native was traded to the Astros as part of the Hunter Pence deal in 2011.
Tuntland, like Cardoza and Emsley-Pai, will head to Frisco from the 2022 Hickory staff. Starting his third season with the Rangers organization, Tuntland was the hitting coach for Hickory in 2022 after serving as the hitting coach for the Arizona Complex League Rangers in 2021. From 2016 to 2018, the Illinois native coached in the collegiate ranks at Oakton CC, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and West Virginia, his alma mater. Tuntland was drafted in the 29th round of the 2013 draft by San Francisco, hitting .227/.345/.338/.683 over his two seasons.
A veteran of baseball, Keister comes to the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at OurSports Central Texas League TL News…