Coaching Staff

BATS / THROWS: Right / Right

BORN: 2/6/86 in Maui, Hawaii

RESIDES: Molokai, Hawaii

SEASON WITH GWINNETT: 4th (2014-16 as player, 2024 as manager)

SEASON WITH BRAVES ORGANIZATION: 11th (Since 2014)

MANAGERIAL SEASON: 4th (Since 2021)

BIO:

• Overview: Enters his first season as manager of the Stripers in 2024 ... Named the eighth manager in Gwinnett history on 1/25/24 ... Is the second former Gwinnett player to manage the club (joining Matt Tuiasosopo), and the first former pitcher.
• 2023: Debuted as a Double-A manager with Mississippi, going 62-75 ... Under his leadership, the M-Braves led the Southern League in lowest ERA (3.94) and finished second in both WHIP (1.36) and BAA (.236).
• 2022: Returned for a second season with Rome and guided the club to a 74-54 mark, third place in the South Atlantic League ... Qualified for the Postseason for the first time in his managerial career ... R-Braves lost their first-round series 2-1 to Bowling Green.
• 2021: Made his managerial debut with High-A Rome, leading the R-Braves to a 56-60 record and a sixth-place finish in the High-A East.
• 2017-20: Began his coaching career as a pitching coach, serving that post with rookie-level Danville (2017-18) and Class-A Rome (2019) ... Was slated to return as Rome’s pitching coach in 2020 (season canceled due to COVID-19).
• Playing Career: Selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 22nd round of the 2006 Draft out of Saddleback College (Mission Viejo, CA) ... Pitched for 11 seasons with 6 different organizations, including the White Sox, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds, and Braves ... Also spent parts of 2 seasons (2013-14) with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.
• MLB Career: Selected in the MLB phase of the 2009 Rule 5 Draft by Seattle from the New York Yankees ... Pitched for both the Mariners (16G) and Kansas City Royals (27G) during his MLB debut season in 2010 ... Became the fourth Maui native to debut in the Majors ... Returned to pitch 6 times for the Royals in 2011.
• On the Move: Was traded just once in his career, from the White Sox to the Yankees on 11/13/08 ... Was packaged with OF Nick Swisher in exchange for INF Wilson Betemit, RHP Jeff Marquez, and RHP Jhonny Nunez.
• With Gwinnett: Over parts of 3 seasons (2014-16), combined to go 10-16 with a 4.33 ERA and 1 save (1-for-4) in 66G (32 starts) with the G-Braves ... In 2015, made history as the first Gwinnett pitcher ever to win 6 consecutive starts (6-0, 3.63 ERA from 7/20-8/15) ... Retired as a professional player with the G-Braves on 8/31/16, retiring both batters faced as part of a combined 2-hit shutout (won 2-0).
• Winter Leagues: Pitched for Honolulu of the Hawaii Winter Baseball League in 2007 (0-0, 8.31 ERA in 8G) ... In 2013-14, pitched for Mayaguez in the Puerto Rican Winter League (0-0, 0.69 ERA in 14G, 1 start) and Puerto Rico during the Caribbean Series (0-1, 18.00 ERA in 2G) ... Returned to Mayguez in 2014-15 (1-1, 3.80 ERA in 17G) and 2015-16 (5-0, 2.30 ERA in 9G, 8 starts).
• Career Accolades: Carolina League Midseason All-Star (2008) ... Carolina League Postseason All-Star (2008) ... Gwinnett Braves Community Service Award (2015, 2016).
• Personal: He and his wife Leo have two daughters ... Attended Kamehameha High School in Oahu, Hawaii ... Originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 31st round of the 2004 Draft, but did not sign.

Visit Texeira's page on Baseball-Reference.com

BATS / THROWS: Right / Right

BORN: 6/17/78 in Palos Heights, IL

RESIDES: Birmingham, AL

SEASON WITH GWINNETT: 1st (Since 2024)

SEASON WITH BRAVES ORGANIZATION: 1st (Since 2024)

COACHING SEASON: 16th (Since 2009)

BIO:

• Overview: Enters his first season with the Stripers and the Braves organization in 2024 ... It is his first season coaching outside of the Tampa Bay Rays organization, where he spent the previous 15 years ... It is his third season coaching in Triple-A, first since 2018-19 with Durham.
• 2022-23: Served as the assistant hitting coach for the Tampa Bay Rays under manager Kevin Cash, his first career stint as a MLB coach ... Named to the position on 11/18/21 ... The Rays reached the MLB Postseason as an American League Wild Card in each of his 2 seasons with the club.
• 2020-21: Was Tampa Bay’s minor league hitting coordinator, his lone stint as a roving instructor.
• 2010-19: Served as a hitting coach at nearly every level of the Rays system, including the GCL Rays (2010-11), Short-A Hudson Valley (2012-13), Class-A Bowling Green (2014-15), Double-A Montgomery (2016-17), and Triple-A Durham (2018-19) ... Was part of championship clubs twice, including 2012 with Hudson Valley (won the NY-Penn League), and 2018 with Durham (won the International League).
• Arizona Fall League: In 2015, was the hitting coach for the Mesa Solar Sox.
• 2009: Began his coaching career as the infield coach for Tampa Bay’s rookie-level affiliate in Princeton.
• Playing Career: Signed by the Tampa Bay Rays as a non-drafted free agent out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham in June 2000 ... Went on to play 8 seasons between the Rays (2000-04) and Washington Nationals (2005-07) organizations ... Claimed by Washington in the 2004 Rule 5 Draft ... Saw action at every defensive position except catcher during his career ... His best season came in 2005, when he combined to bat .324 (123-for-380, 30 2B, 4 3B, 14 HR, 63 R, 52 RBI, 5 SB, .915 OPS) between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A New Orleans.
• On the Mound: Made 9 relief appearances across the Double-A and Triple-A levels, going 0-0 with an 11.25 ERA (10 ER in 8.0 IP).
• MiLB Accolades: Earned an Appalachian League midseason All-Star nod in his rookie year in 2000.
• Personal: He and his wife, Krista, have two daughters, McNally and Fallon ... Graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a criminal justice degree ... Hit 27 homers in 2 seasons with the UAB Blazers, and at the time of his graduation, was tied for fifth in program history in homers ... Named second-team All-Conference as a junior in 1999.

Visit DeMent's page on Baseball-Reference.com

BATS / THROWS: Right / Right

BORN: 9/17/91 in Santurce, Puerto Rico

SEASON WITH GWINNETT: 4th (Since 2021)

SEASON WITH BRAVES ORGANIZATION: 11th (Since 2014)

COACHING SEASON: 7th (Since 2018)

BIO:

• Overview: Enters his fourth season with Gwinnett in 2024 ... Made his Triple-A coaching debut with the Stripers in 2021.
• Coaching Career: After retiring as a player, began his coaching career with the Gulf Coast League Braves in 2018 ... Joined Class-A Rome in 2019 ... Was set to return to Rome in 2020 before the MiLB season was cancelled ... Was on the coaching staff for the Braves Instructional League in October 2020 at Coolray Field.
• Winter Ball: Coached for Santurce of the Puerto Rican Winter League for the first time in 2023.
• Professional Career: Selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 20th round of the 2014 June draft out of Lubbock Christian University (Lubbock, TX) ... Over four seasons from 2014-17, hit .192 with 19 doubles, six home runs, 31 runs, 50 RBI, and three stolen bases in 150 games ... Defensively, played catcher (.989 fielding percentage, 35.5% caught stealing percentage in 32 games), first base (.984 fielding percentage in 58 games), and third base (.000 fielding percentage in 3 games) ... Reached as high as Advanced-A Florida in 2017.
• In the Postseason: Was a member of Rome’s South Atlantic League championship club in 2016, but did not play in the Postseason ... Only playoff experience came with Rookie-level Danville in 2014 (.000, 0-for-1 in 2 games).
• Foreign Leagues: In 2014-15, played for Santurce of the Puerto Rican Winter League (.222, 1 RBI in 5 games) ... In 2016, played for Melbourne of the Australian Baseball League (.162, 2 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI in 11 games).
• Personal: Wigberto and his wife Giovanna have one daughter, Gianna.

Visit Nevarez's page at Baseball-Reference.com

• Overview: Enters his second season as Gwinnett’s strength and conditioning coach and fourth season in the Atlanta Braves organization in 2024.
• Career: Has previously served as the strength and conditioning coach with High-A Rome (2021) and Double-A Mississippi (2022) ... In 2022, earned the Braves’ Bobby Cox Award for Minor League Staff Member of the Year (first time since award was expanded to recognize staff beyond managers).
• Personal: Played collegiate baseball for four years as an outfielder for the University of British Columbia ... Returned to his alma mater to serve as an assistnat coach and strength and conditioning coach before joining the Braves in 2021.

• Overview: Enters his first season as an athletic trainer with Gwinnett and second season in the Atlanta Braves organization in 2024 ... Joins the Stripers after spending 2023 as the athletic trainer for Double-A Mississippi.
• Career: Since starting his career in 1986, he has worked for five different organizations, including the Texas Rangers, Florida/Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Braves ... Has spent time at the Triple-A level with Oklahoma City, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, and New Orleans prior to joining Gwinnett ... Has twice served as the athletic trainer for the Triple-A All-Star Game.
• In MLB: Has served three stints as an assistant athletic trainer on Major League staffs, with the Rangers (2003), Dodgers (2012-14), and Marlins (2020).
• Personal: Has three children, Ryan (currently the Double-A strength coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks), Joshua, and Emilie ... Earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education with a business minor from Central State University (now the University of Central Oklahoma).

• Overview: Enters his first season as an athletic trainer with Gwinnett and fifth season in the Atlanta Braves organization in 2024 ... Joins the Stripers after spending 2023 as the athletic trainer for High-A Rome.
• Career: Began his career in affiliated baseball with the Chicago White Sox, serving as a seasonal assistant athletic trainer with Double-A Birmingham (2019) ... Joined Atlanta in 2020 and spent 2 seasons as the athletic trainer with the Florida Coast League Braves (2021-22) before being promoted to Rome in 2023 and Gwinnett in 2024.
• Personal: Native of Prairie City, Iowa, currently resides in Norwalk, Iowa with his wife Kara ... Earned his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from the University of Iowa in 2016 and his master’s degree in exercise science from Auburn University in 2019 ... While at Auburn, interned as an athletic trainer for the baseball team in 2016-17 and was a graduate assistant athletic trainer for the football team from 2017-19.