When the Columbus Clingstones start their second season April 3 at Synovus Park, they also will have their second leader in the home dugout.
The Clingstones, the Class AA minor league baseball affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, have announced the club’s coaching staff for the 2026 season, and it includes a new manager.
Nestor Perez returns to the Braves’ Double-A affiliate for the first time since 2021, when he was bench coach for the Mississippi Braves. He succeeds the Clingstones’ first manager, Cody Gabella, who led the team to a 58-77 record last year in the Southern League.
Gabella will manage the Florida Complex League Braves this season, Clingstones media relations director Jack Johnson told the Ledger-Enquirer.
The rest of the Clingstones’ coaching staff are back for the franchise’s second season in Columbus: pitching coach Mike Steed, hitting coach Grant Kay and coach Francisco Diaz.
Perez, 49, enters his 10th season as a manager in the Braves organization. He most recently managed the rookie-level Florida Complex League Braves from 2023-25, guiding the club to a combined 71-100 record and a Florida Complex League championship in 2023.
As bench coach for Double-A Mississippi In 2021, Perez received the Bobby Cox Award, presented annually to the person the Braves consider to be the best representative of top performance in their minor league system.
Nestor Perez will manage the Columbus Clingstones during the 2026 season as the Atlanta Braves’ Class AA affiliate plays its second year in the Chattahoochee Valley at Synovus Park. Provided by Clingstones media relations director Jack Johnson
Born in Matanzas, Cuba, Perez began his professional baseball career in 1998 as an infielder in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, playing parts of seven seasons in their system. He played in the Southern League as a member of the inaugural Montgomery Biscuits in 2004.
Perez also has represented Spain internationally as a player and coach, appearing in 75 games before retiring following the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He led Spain to a gold medal at EuroBaseball 2013.
Steed, 55, returns for his fifth year coaching in the Braves organization. He oversaw a pitching staff that ranked second in the Southern League in quality starts (36) and helped guide three Clingstones to their Major League debuts with Atlanta during the 2025 season: Didier Fuentes, Hayden Harris and Rolddy Muñoz.
A native of Canada, Steed was the pitching coach for High-A Rome (2023-24) and Single-A Augusta (2022). Before professional baseball, he coached the Ontario Blue Jays, a prominent Canadian youth development program, and the Thunder Bay Border Cats of the summer collegiate Northwoods League.
Kay, 33, enters his third season in the Braves organization after making his coaching debut as a utility coach in the Florida Complex League in 2024. He was selected by Tampa Bay in the 27th round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Louisville and played five seasons in the Rays organization, reaching Triple-A Durham in 2017 and spending parts of two seasons with Montgomery.
He continued his playing career in independent and international leagues through 2023, highlighted by 21 home runs and 67 RBIs with the Chicago Dogs (American Association) in 2023.
Diaz, 35, returns for his third consecutive season coaching the Braves’ Double-A affiliate after spending 2024 with Mississippi. The Venezuela native began his professional career as a catcher in the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization in 2007 and played in the Pirates’ and Yankees’ systems before concluding his affiliated playing career in 2019.
The Clingstones’ staff also includes three newcomers: strength and conditioning coach Mike Wall, athletic trainer Tyler Moos and clubhouse manager Brandon Darnell.
Wall worked alongside Perez with the Florida Complex League Braves in 2025. Moos enters his second season in the Braves organization after serving as an athletic trainer with Triple-A Gwinnett in 2025. Darnell enters his second season in the Braves organization after spending the 2025 season with Single-A Augusta.
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
Mark Rice is the Ledger-Enquirer’s editor. He has been covering Columbus and the Chattahoochee Valley for more than 30 years. He welcomes your local news tips, feature story ideas, investigation suggestions and compelling questions.