Press Release
Idaho Falls – The Kansas City Royals announced today the new manager of the Idaho Falls Chukars, Brian Buchanan. The former manager of the Chukars, Darryl Kennedy, will manage the Royals rookie league squad in Surprise, Arizona for the 2010 season. This will be Buchanan’s first season as manager at any level of professional baseball.
Buchanan was drafted by the New York Yankees as an outfielder in the first round (24th overall) of the 1994 MLB amateur draft from the University of Virginia. After four seasons in the Yankees organization, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Chuck Knoblauch. After two seasons in the twin cities, he was again traded to the San Diego Padres for Jason Bartlett. After playing five seasons at the Major League level, Buchanan posted a .258 batting average with 32 home runs in 767 at bats.
Buchanan has spent the last four seasons playing in the minors with one year being spent in Japan playing for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. This past season he played for the Omaha Royals, triple A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.
Joining Buchanan in 2010 will be pitching coach Carlos Martinez, hitting coach Julio Bruno, and trainer Masa Koyanagi. For Martinez, this will mark his second season in Idaho Falls. Prior to joining the Chukars in 2009, Martinez spent two seasons as a coach for the Surprise Royals. Martinez resides in Santo Domingo, DR with his wife Maria, and son, Matthew.
Julio Bruno will join Buchanan’s staff after managing the Surprise Royals for the last two seasons. Prior to his brief stint in Surprise, Bruno spent several years managing the Royals Dominican team. From 2004-2006, he successfully led Salcedo to a combined record of 141-47. Bruno resides in Puerto Plata, DR, with his wife Francia, and daughter, Priscilla.
Masa Koyanagi will be joining the Chukars for his third season in Idaho Falls. In 2007, Koyanagi worked for the Tampa Bay Rays as the interpreter for infielder Akinori Iwamura. Before joining the Rays, Koyanagi has served as an athletic trainer in the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and San Francisco Giants organizations. He also had the honor to work as an athletic trainer for Champion Japan of the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Koyanagi was born in Omuta-City, Fukuoka, Japan, but currently resides in Peoria, Arizona with his wife Misato, and two daughters, Maria and Monami.
