Previously, he was interim manager with the Houston Astros; served one season as third-base coach for the Oakland Athletics; spent six seasons as manager of the Sacramento River Cats; and was a minor league coach and manager for the Oakland Athletics farm system for fourteen years, managing teams in the Arizona Rookie League, Northwest League, California League, Texas League, and Pacific Coast League (PCL). As a player, he was a catcher in the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds farm systems from 1984 to 1992.\n', '

As the manager of the PCL\'s River Cats, (Oakland\'s Triple-A farm club), DeFrancesco led the team to three PCL titles in five years, winning the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year Award and The Sporting News Minor League Manager of the Year award in 2003. The River Cats won the 2007 Bricktown Showdown under DeFrancesco.\n', '

In 2015, he managed the Fresno Grizzlies, the Triple-A PCL affiliate of the Houston Astros, to the Triple-A National Championship and was named Baseball America\'s Minor League Manager of the Year.\n', '

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