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Triple-A Scranton, Double-A Trenton announce coaching staffs

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Thames is movin' on up. (Times of Trenton)
Thames is movin’ on up. (Times of Trenton)

The Yankees have yet to hire a new hitting coach and first base coach, but they have finalized the coaching staffs for their top two minor league affiliates. They were officially announced a few days ago. There was quite a bit a turnover — which isn’t uncommon at the minor league level —  and some of it appears to have long-term big league implications. Here are the new staffs:

Triple-A Scranton

Manager: Dave Miley
Hitting Coach: Marcus Thames
Pitching Coach: Scott Aldred
Defensive Coach: Justin Tordi
Trainers: Darren London (head trainer) and Lee Tressell (strength and conditioning)

Miley, Aldred, and London are all returning. Miley has been managing New York’s top farm team since 2006, when they were still affiliated with the Columbus Clippers. Aldred was considered for the big league pitching coach job a few years ago before Larry Rothschild was hired. Tordi was the first base and bench coach with Low-A Charleston last summer.

The most notable name here is Thames, who was said to be a candidate for the big league hitting coach job earlier this offseason. In fact, at one point it was erroneously reported he would take over as the team’s assistant hitting coach, but obviously that isn’t the case. Thames was the hitting coach for High-A Tampa in 2013 and Double-A Trenton in 2014, so he’s moving up another level. He has a lot of supporters in the organization and it appears the team is grooming him for an MLB coaching job in the future, perhaps as soon as 2016. Maybe that whole assistant hitting coach report thing was a year early.

Double-A Trenton

Manager: Al Pedrique
Hitting Coach: P.J. Pilittere
Pitching Coach: Jose Rosado
Defensive Coach: Michel Hernandez
Trainers: Lee Meyer (head trainer) and Orlando Crance (strength and conditioning)

Hernandez, Meyer and Crance are all returning to the team. Rosado is joining the Thunder after spending the last four seasons as a pitching coach with one of the team’s two rookie level Gulf Coast League affiliates.

Pilittere, who longtime RAB readers will remember as a player from Down on the Farm, was High-A Tampa’s hitting coach last year, Low-A Charleston’s hitting the coach the year before that, and the Rookie GCL Yanks hitting coach the year before that. The scouting report on him as a player always said he was smart guy with top notch makeup, which made him a good coaching candidate down the line. Like Thames, Pilittere seems to be a faster riser up the coaching ranks.

Pedrique is replacing longtime Thunder skipper Tony Franklin, who had been managing the team since 2007. Pedrique has some big league managerial and coaching experience — he spent 83 games as interim manager of the awful Diamondbacks in 2004 — and has been with the organization since 2013. He managed Low-A Charleston in 2013 and High-A Tampa in 2014.

Franklin, meanwhile, will manage the Pulaski Yankees in 2015, the organization’s new rookie ball affiliate, according to George King (subs. req’d). King notes that under new player development head Gary Denbo, the Yankees want to put veteran managers at the lower levels of the minors to work with their youngest prospects. I like the idea. I have no idea if it’ll make any real difference, but I like it.

Rookie the Bat Dog up for Minor League Best Mascot Award

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Quick note to pass along: Double-A Trenton’s bat dog Rookie is up for a Minor League Best Mascot Award. You might remember that Rookie’s grandfather Chase passed away last summer. You can vote right here or by using the hashtag #VoteRookieThunder on Twitter. There are 14 finalists and Rookie is the only living, breathing animal. The rest are dudes in mascot suits. Voting closes on August 11th. Take a second and go vote because bat dogs are awesome.

Mariano Rivera to be honored at Double-A Trenton’s Arm & Hammer Park

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Mariano Rivera will be honored at Arm & Hammer Park on Thursday, August 7th, before Double-A Trenton’s scheduled game against Altoona. Rivera will throw out the ceremonial first pitch and be presented with a check from the MVP Foundation on behalf of his church, Refugio de Esperanza (Refuge of Hope).

You can read more info about the ceremony right here and purchase tickets using this link. Use the special offer code “MVP” while purchasing tickets online and $3 will be donated to the Mariano Rivera Foundation. Special thanks goes out to Eric Lipsman, the Thunder’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Sales & Partnerships, for the heads up and all his help and kindness over the years.

Yankees extend PDC with Trenton Thunder through 2022

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The Yankees and the Trenton Thunder announced an eight-year extension of their player development contract at a press conference this afternoon. The current agreement runs through 2014, so the new deal will keep the two clubs together through 2022.

Trenton has been home to the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate since 2002, and by all indications the marriage has worked exceedingly well. The Thunder draw well at Waterfront Park and they’re nice and close for Major League rehab assignments and whatnot. Since hooking on with the Yankees, Trenton has won four division titles and two league championships in ten years. They’re in position to add to those totals this season as well.

Trenton to take on Scranton in exhibition game

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On April 1st, Triple-A Scranton will head down I-476 to take on Double-A Trenton in an exhibition game at Trenton’s beautiful Waterfront Park. As Chad Jennings notes, the 2007 Trenton Thunder team, the Double-A Eastern League champs, will be honored before the game. This is a pretty cool idea by the Yanks, of course this wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining without the farm system Cashman & Co. have built.

Frankie Cervelli, Justin Christian, Colin Curtis, Eric Duncan, Brett Gardner, Edwar Gonzalez, Alan Horne, Austin Jackson, Jeff Marquez, Dan McCutchen, Juan Miranda, Scott Patterson, PJ Piliterre, David Robertson, Jose Tabata, Marcos Vechionacci, Kevin Whelan, Steven White. All on the same field. Tickets go on sale Monday, get yours here.