The most memorable baseball promotion for Carlos Febles came when he was called up to the Kansas City Royals with Carlos Beltran on Sept. 14, 1998.
But Thursday’s announcement – that Febles will take over as manager of the Portland Sea Dogs – still means a lot.
“It’s a big step every time you get promoted,” he said recently from his home in La Romana in the Dominican Republic.
“In Double-A you’re getting players close to the big leagues.”
Febles, 39, will become the Sea Dogs’ 12th manager when the team opens its 23rd season in April. Portland is the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
Febles replaces Billy McMillon, who was named the Red Sox minor league outfielding and baserunning coordinator.
The Red Sox announced their minor league coaching and instructor positions Thursday, including a new hitting coach for Portland. Jon Nunnally, 44, replaces Dave Joppie, who left the organization. Nunnally played six major leagues seasons as an outfielder, including 10 games with the Red Sox in 1999.
Kevin Walker will return for his second year as pitching coach with the Sea Dogs. Walker, 38, pitched six major league seasons. He has been with the Red Sox since 2009.
Febles played six seasons with the Royals. As a minor league second baseman he was a hyped prospect, along with Beltran. They were known as “Dos Carlos.” Both got September call-ups in 1998 and Febles did not waste time impressing, batting .400 in 11 games.
“A dream come true,” Febles said. “You work your butt off in the minor leagues. I got an opportunity and I took advantage.”
Febles became a starter in the majors the next season. Known more for his glove, he batted .250 with a .683 OPS over his career.
In 2004, Febles signed with the Red Sox and played 68 games for Triple-A Pawtucket.
“I hurt my shoulder in Pawtucket and in my third game back, I tore my ACL. I decided to retire,” he said.
But the Red Sox must have liked Febles. They hired him as a minor league hitting coach in 2009 and made him a manager in 2011, of the Lowell Spinners in the short-season New York-Penn League.
From there, Febles followed McMillon, replacing him in Class A Greenville (2012) and advanced Class A Salem (2014) in Virginia.
He was 134-141 in two seasons with Salem.
“Carlos does a great job year in and year out,” said Ben Crockett, the Red Sox director of player development. “He’s a tremendous teacher and communicator, and someone who has the respect of all he comes across.”
Besides his major league career, Febles played four years in the minors. He said that helps him now as a minor league manager.
“The experiences they are going through in the minors, I went through it. All the mistakes they are making, I made them too,” he said.
“It’s how you bounce back from them and how you learn from them. … You cannot be afraid to make mistakes.”
In Salem last year, Febles managed a player who made few mistakes – touted outfielder Manuel Margot, who was eventually promoted to Portland. In November, Margot was included in a trade with San Diego for closer Craig Kimbrel.
Margot “is the guy every manager wants to have,” Febles said. “He comes ready to work. Plays the game extremely hard. Defensively, he’s major league ready. Offensively, once he gets consistent, he’s going to be there. Hard to see those guys go but it’s part of the business.”
Coming up with Febles from Salem is Nunnally, who began coaching in the Indians organization. He was named Cleveland’s hitting coach in 2010 and was replaced in June 2011. Nunnally has been coaching in the minors since, joining the Red Sox with Salem last year.
“Jon made an impact in his first season with us in Salem,” Crockett said. “He has unwavering energy and positivity that players respond to.”
Among the other coaching announcements is the return of the Pawtucket staff (Manager Kevin Boles, hitting coach Rich Gedman and pitching coach Bob Kipper) that used to be in Portland.
Former Sea Dogs infielder Iggy Suarez, one of the franchise’s most popular players, was named manager of the Lowell Spinners. Suarez, 34, was a coach in Lowell last year.
Brandon Henry, the Sea Dogs’ trainer the past four years, has been promoted to minor league athletic training coordinator. Chris Messina replaces him in Portland.
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