The Seattle Mariners announced the organization’s minor-league coaching staffs on Monday and Jose Moreno is returning as manager of the Everett AquaSox.
It will be Moreno’s third straight season at the helm of the Northwest League club and his fifth overall. He also managed the AquaSox in 2008 and 2010.
Joe Thurston, who spent the past two seasons with the High-A Modesto Nuts of the California League, will serve as Everett’s hitting coach and Ari Ronick, a newcomer to the organization, is the pitching coach.
Moreno, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, owns a 155-149 record with the AquaSox. He won an NWL championship with Everett in 2010, a team that tied the franchise record with 49 wins and featured future big leaguers Steve Baron, Yoervis Medina, Stephen Pryor and Tom Wilhelmsen.
This will be Moreno’s 19th season in the Mariners’ organization and his 14th as a manager. He’s previously held positions with Aquirre in the Venezuelan Summer League (2001-2004), the VSL Mariners (2005-2006), AZL Mariners (2007), short-season Pulaski (2009 and 2012), High-A High Desert (2011) and as the Mariners’ Latin America Field Coordinator (2013-2016).
Moreno played 82 major-league games over three seasons with the Mets, Padres and Angels. He belted two home runs and was a career .206 hitter.
Thurston played 184 games in the major leagues between stints with the Dodgers, Phillies, Red Sox, Cardinals and Marlins.
Ronick was a left-handed pitcher drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 12th round of the 2008 MLB draft. The University of Portland product and Boulder, Colorado, native played three seasons in the minor leagues and three seasons in the independent leagues before retiring. He’s run the Ronick Baseball Academy out of Missoula, Montana, for nine years.
Additionally, Amanda Lee was named Everett’s athletic trainer and Alexander Pons was announced as the performance specialist.
The AquaSox begin the 2019 NWL season June 14 at Tri-City. They host Salem-Keizer on June 21 in their home opener.
The Mariners also announced that Lake Stevens native Mitch Canham will serve as the manager of Double-A Arkansas. Canham spent last season as Modesto’s manager. You can view the entire minor-league coaching staff here.
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