Juan Martin becomes player coach with the Mannheim Tornados. The 27-year-old Argentina native with Italian passport succeeds Alex Szalay as head coach, who becomes general manager of the club. Martin, a former minor leaguer with the Tampa Bay Rays in the Dominican Summer League, has been played two years for the Tornados in the German Baseball-Bundesliga. Last year he batted .375/.402/.475 in 28 games, everyone behind the plate.