With pitching coach Brad Arnsberg moving up to the big club from Triple-A and the departure of Rick Adair from Double-A New Hampshire to a position in the Rangers organization, the Jays had two important minor-league vacancies to fill. Once again, J.P. Ricciardi has attracted some talented individuals to his developmental team.

Chuck Kniffin, who takes over in Syracuse, has been working with the likes of Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson in Arizona the last two years. Here's a great 2002 profile of him by Paul Rubin of the Phoenix New Times.

The new Fisher Cats pitching coach is Dave LaRoche. The lefty, a two-time all-star in his 14-year major league career, is the father of Braves 1B Adam and Dodgers prospect Andy. He coached in the big leagues for five years with the Mets and White Sox, and has been at AAA Omaha in the Royals system the last three years. In 1987, Dave coached in Syracuse, so we welcome him back to the Toronto organization.

In other appointments, former D-backs hitting coach Dwayne Murphy, an OBP freak and graceful outfielder in his 12 big-league seasons, will be the new bench coach with the SkyChiefs, and veteran infielder John Valentin begins his coaching career as the new hitting instructor in Double-A. Best of luck to all of the new hires as they begin working with some outstanding prospects.