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Detroit Tigers reveal 2024 minor league coaches; Sean McFarland is new medical coordinator
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- Detroit Tigers reveal 2024 minor league coaches; Sean McFarland is new medical coordinator
The Detroit Tigers hired a new minor-league medical coordinator for the 2024 season, replacing Corey Tremble .
Sean McFarland , the athletic trainer for High-A West Michigan last season, has been promoted to medical coordinator in the minor leagues. He joined the Tigers back in 2017 as the athletic trainer for the rookie-level team in Lakeland, Florida.
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Tremble, as previously reported by the Free Press , resigned from his position as the minor-league medical and rehab coordinator after 16 seasons with the organization. He spent more than 11 years in that role before leaving.
The Tigers haven't officially announced McFarland's promotion from athletic trainer to medical coordinator, but on Monday, the Tigers revealed their minor league coaches for the 2024 season.
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The five managers: Tim Federowicz in Triple-A Toledo, Gabe Alvarez in Double-A Erie, Tony Cappuccilli in High-A West Michigan and Andrew Graham in Low-A Lakeland and Salvador Paniagua in the Florida Complex League. (The Free Press previously reported the hires of Federowicz and Cappuccilli .)
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It's the third staff under vice president of player development Ryan Garko.
Federowicz replaces Anthony Iapoce, who joined the Tigers' staff as the first base coach , as the leader of the Mud Hens. Cappuccilli replaces Brayan Peña as the skipper of the Whitecaps, but Peña agreed to stay in the organization as the catching coordinator. Paniagua replaces Mike Alvarez, who left the organization , as the manager in the Florida Complex League.
The Double-A Erie and Low-A Lakeland managers stayed the same for the third and fifth seasons in a row, respectively. The Tigers also tabbed Sandy Acevedo and Marco Yepez as the managers for the two teams in the Dominican Summer League.
The Tigers hired Justin Wagler as the new athletic trainer in High-A West Michigan as the result of McFarland's promotion to minor-league medical coordinator.
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Wagler worked as an intern with the Tigers in July 2022 and the Arizona Diamondbacks in August 2022 while completing his master's degree at the University of Michigan.
Detroit Tigers prospects Cristian Santana (front) and Roberto Campos (left) wait to take batting practice during spring training minor-league minicamp Monday, Feb. 21, 2022 at Tiger Town in Lakeland, Florida.
He joined the Tigers as an assistant athletic trainer in the minor leagues in February 2023, only to depart in September 2023. He spent two months as a certified athletic trainer in Michigan's athletic department before the Tigers hired him back in November 2023 to fill the athletic trainer vacancy at High-A West Michigan.
Tremble, the medical and rehab coordinator who resigned from his post after last season, interviewed for opportunities on the MLB staff during his 16-season tenure with the Tigers, but he wasn't promoted to the big leagues.
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He was named the Medical Coordinator of the Year by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society in 2021 and 2022. He was selected to the 2023 All-Star Futures Game, a showcase for prospects, as the trainer for one of the two teams.
Here's a full list of the coaches for the Tigers' minor league teams in 2024:
Triple-A Toledo
Manager: Tim Federowicz .
Bench coach:Tim Garland.
Pitching coach:Doug Bochtler.
Pitching coach:Ollie Kadey.
Hitting coach:Mike Hessman.
Athletic trainer:Chris McNeely.
Strength coach:Phil Hartt.
Double-A Erie
Manager:Gabe Alvarez.
Bench coach:Matt Malott.
Pitching coach:Juan Pimentel.
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Hitting coach:CJ Wamsley.
Athletic trainer:Bryce Hietpas.
Strength coach:Paul Synenkyj.
High-A West Michigan
Manager:Tony Cappuccilli.
Pitching coach:Dan Ricabal.
Pitching coach:Collin Murray.
Hitting coach:Francisco Contreras.
Athletic trainer:Justin Wagler.
Strength coach:Kevin Kleis.
Low-A Lakeland
Manager:Andrew Graham.
Bench coach: Rene Rivera .
Pitching coach:Nick Green.
Hitting coach:Nick Bredeson.
Athletic trainer:Erick Flores.
Strength coach:Dax Fiore.
Florida Complex League
Manager:Salvador Paniagua.
Pitching coach:Willians Moreno.
Pitching coach: Tyler Anderson .
Hitting coach:Chase Glaum.
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Hitting coach:Rafael Gil.
Athletic trainer:Nick Wheeler.
Strength coach:Tyler Gniadek.
Dominican Summer League 1
Manager:Sandy Acevedo.
Pitching coach:Roberto Yil.
Pitching coach assistant:Rafael Acosta.
Hitting coach:Francisco Martinez.
Infield coach:Ivan Contreras.
Outfield coach:Francisco Santana.
Athletic trainer:Haley Brown.
Strength and conditioning coach:Miguel Martinez.
Strength coach:Franklin Galvez.
Dominican Summer League 2
Manager:Marco Yepez.
Pitching coach:Darwyn Zambrano.
Pitching coach assistant:Rafael Acosta.
Hitting coach:Omar Rosario.
Infield coach:Soilo Perdomo .
Outfield coach:Francisco Santana.
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Athletic trainer:Jack Lehker.
Strength and conditioning coach:Felix Ojeda.
Strength coach:Franklin Galvez.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers announce new minor league coaches for 2024
