SeaWolves Announce 2023 Field Staff

The Erie SeaWolves, in conjunction with their parent club the Detroit Tigers, today announce the team’s 2023 field staff.

Gabe Alvarez, who led the SeaWolves to their first ever Eastern League Championship series appearance, returns to the club to lead the 2023 squad. Alvarez enters his third season in the Tigers organization and second with Erie. He guided Erie to its fifth 80-win season in team history, capturing the Southwest Division second half title on the final day of the regular season.

Joining Alvarez’ staff will be Pitching Coach Juan Pimentel, Hitting Coach John Murrian, Bench Coach Matt Malott, Athletic Trainer Chris Vick and Strength & Conditioning Coach Donny Trapp.

FIELD STAFF BIOS

GABE ALVAREZ – MANAGER

Gabe Alvarez, the 19^th manager in SeaWolves history, returns to Erie for his second season after leading the club to a Southwest Division title and Eastern League Championship Series appearance in 2022.

Prior to joining the Tigers, Alvarez spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Southern California. He also served as the Trojans’ recruiting coordinator and hitting coach before departing for professional baseball.

Alvarez was selected in the second round of the 1995 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the San Diego Padres. After spending three seasons in the Padres Minor League system, he was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1997 MLB Expansion Draft and then traded to the Tigers. Alvarez began the 1998 season with the Toledo Mud Hens and made his Major League debut with Detroit on June 22, 1998. He split time between Toledo and Detroit from 1998-2000 before being traded to the Padres in July of 2000. His spent the last three seasons of his playing career in the minors at the Double-A level with affiliates of Cincinnati (2001), Milwaukee (2002), and the Chicago White Sox (2003).

JUAN PIMENTEL – PITCHING COACH

Juan Pimentel returns to the Tigers organization for his second season and first as the Erie pitching coach.

Pimentel spent the 2022 season as the pitching coach for the Tigers Single-A Affiliate Lakeland. Prior to joining the Tigers, Pimentel spent one season as a co-pitching coach with the Dominican Summer League affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

Pimentel is a native of the Dominican Republic and played collegiately at Indian River State College and the University of Central Florida. After graduating UCF in 2017, he returned to Indian River State as a pitching coach before taking on the same role at the University of Delaware for two years prior to his role with the Mariners.

JOHN MURRIAN – HITTING COACH

Former SeaWolves catcher, John Murrian, returns as the club’s hitting coach in 2023.

Under Murrian in 2022, the SeaWolves were tied for third in the Eastern League with a .246 team batting average. Erie ranked second in the league with 175 home runs, second with a .428 slugging percentage, third with a .753 OPS, third with 1,122 hits, third with 35 triples and fourth 233 doubles. Prior to joining Erie last season, Murrian spent the 2021 campaign as the Lakeland hitting coach, a role he held the two previous seasons with the West Michigan Whitecaps and GCL Tigers.

Prior to his transition to coaching, Murrian spent five seasons (2014-18) as a Major League bullpen catcher with the Tigers. Before assuming the role of bullpen catcher, he played five seasons in the Tigers minor league system, hitting .243 with 20 home runs and 116 RBIs. Murrian spent parts of three seasons with the SeaWolves from 2010-2012. As a catcher, he maintained a 33 percent caught stealing rate over the course of his playing career.

Murrian attended Winthrop University where he played three seasons with the Eagles. He was drafted by the Tigers in the ninth round of the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

MATT MALOTT – BENCH COACH

Mike Malott joins the Erie coaching staff in 2023, his second season in the Tigers organization.

Malott spent the 2022 season as the development coach for the Tigers Single-A affiliate in Lakeland. Prior to joining the Tigers, he spent a year and a half as the player development coach and owner of Objective Baseball, LLC.

Prior to that position, Malott was a development coach with the Kansas City Royals, which was then interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before and during is time in professional baseball, he worked as the varsity pitching coach at Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego since August, 2015.

He played collegiately at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, where he was a starting pitcher.

CHRIS VICK – ATHLETIC TRAINER

2022 Eastern League Athetic Trainer of the Year, Chris Vick returns to the SeaWolves in 2023 for his third season as the team’s Athletic Trainer. Prior to joining the SeaWolves, he served in the same capacity with Detroit Tigers affiliates at Class-A West Michigan (2019), Class-A Advanced Lakeland (2017-2018), Class-A Connecticut (2015-2016), and the Gulf Coast League Tigers (2014).

Vick previously served as an Assistant Athletic Training Intern with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs in the Boston Red Sox organization (2013). He also served as a Strength and Conditioning Intern with the Class-A Lakewood BlueClaws in the Philadelphia Phillies organization (2012).

Vick completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Athletic Training from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. He is a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association as well as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.