Emeralds Announce 2022 Coaching Staff

The team’s title defense begins with Carlos Valderrama at the helm, along with some familiar faces from last season

The Eugene Emeralds announced their 2022 coaching staff, headed by manager Carlos Valderrama. Joining him will be pitching coach Alain Quijano, hitting coach Cory Elasik, and fundamentals coach Eliezer Zambrano. The staff also includes athletic trainer Tim Vigue and strength and conditioning coach Nick Fajardo.

Carlos Valderrama will lead the 2021 Champion Eugene Emeralds after managing the Arizona Giants last year and spending 2018-19 with the Augusta Greenjackets. Valderrama also managed Augusta in 2017 before managing the AZL Giants Black in 2018. From 2014-2016, Valderrama was the manager of the DSL Giants, winning Manager of the Year in 2015. The 2022 campaign marks his 14th season as a coach in the organization, as the former Giants’ outfielder served as a hitting coach for the summer team for six seasons prior to being manager. The Venezuela native was originally signed by San Francisco as a non-drafted free agent in 1995, playing 11 seasons with organization through 2005. He saw action in seven Major League contests in 2003. He finished his playing career in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system.

Alain Quijano embarks on his third season in the Giants organization in 2022 as the pitching coach for Eugene after helping lead the team to a 2021 High-A West Championship last season. Prior to joining the Giants’, Quijano spent five years working as a pitching coach for the Gary SouthShore RailCats of the Independent American Association in Gary, IN.

Cory Elasik enters his third season as a coach in the Giants’ organization and his second with Eugene after joining the staff during the 2021 championship season. Elasik spent the previous two seasons as the AZL hitting coach. Before joining the Giants, Elasik was the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at St. Johns River State College (2015-2020). Meanwhile, Eliezer Zambrano embarks on his third season as a coach in the Giants organization after serving as a bullpen catcher in the Giants system with Double-A Richmond in 2018. A native of San Diego, VZ, Zambrano spent his entire 12 season minor league career in the Giants organization as a catcher where he reached triple-A Sacramento in his final playing season (2017).

Tim Vigue enters his fourth season with the Giants and his second with Eugene as the athletic trainer. Prior to joining SF, he spent five years as the head baseball athletic trainer for Florida International University. Nick Fajardo begins his fourth season in the Giants organization in 2022 and his second in Eugene after joining last year’s staff mid-season.