The trickle down effect of Gabe Alvarez to Toledo

Per Lynn Henning of the Detroit News, the Detroit Tigers are promoting Gabe Alvarez to take over as manager in Triple-A Toledo. Tim Federowicz, who led the Mud Hens to a 69-80 record, will not be returning to the organization. Andrew Graham, who is now the winningest manager in Lakeland Flying Tigers history, gets promoted to Double-A Erie, where he spent a season managing the SeaWolves in 2018.

Graham has been with the organization since 2009, starting out as a coach for the GCL Tigers. He has managed all over the Tigers system, from Connecticut in the New York-Penn League, to winning a title with the West Michigan Whitecaps in 2015. Tony Cappuccilli is expected to return as the manager for West Michigan in 2025.

Alvarez’s resume has been impressive since joining the organization. Here’s a list of his accomplishments since being hired in July 2021:

• Three straight postseason appearances and three consecutive trips to the Eastern League finals
• 2023 Eastern League Manager of the Year
• Back to back Eastern League championships

So why is this promotion important? Let’s take a look.

The impact of Gabe Alvarez at Toledo

Gabe Alvarez has nothing left to prove at Double-A. With a roster in 2024 that wasn’t heavy with Top 100 prospects, Alvarez was able to overcome the following list of injuries:

Jackson Jobe: He strained his left hamstring on May 1, 2024, during a game against the Bowie Baysox. He missed approximately seven weeks before returning to the lineup.
Jake Holton: The infielder was hit by a pitch on the wrist during a series against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in early August 2024. This injury led to his placement on the 60-day injured list, ending his season.
Troy Melton: The right-handed pitcher was placed on the 7-day injured list retroactive to August 29, 2024. Specific details about his injury were not disclosed.
Trei Cruz: The outfielder underwent UCL reconstruction surgery in August 2024, sidelining him for the remainder of the season.
Hao-Yu Lee: The infielder was placed on the injured list in August 2024.
Tyler Mattison: The right-handed pitcher underwent UCL reconstruction surgery in March and missed the entire 2024 season.
Adam Wolf: The left-handed pitcher was placed on the injured list on June 13, 2024.

Alvarez was able to get production from players like Gage Workman, who was one of the leaders in the Eastern League in batting average (.280), home runs (18) and doubles (29), and Austin Murr, who was able to slide in for Holton at first.

Alvarez will likely to continue to work with a core of players he is already familiar with and provide some stability as far as managers go in Toledo. He is now the sixth Mud Hens manager in six seasons.

A big reason behind the success of the Tigers unlikely playoff run in 2024 was the amount of players who played together in the minors. Nine players on the 40-man roster played for Gabe in Kerry Carpenter, Dillon Dingler, Parker Meadows, Ty Madden, Brant Hurter, Colt Keith, Wenceel Pérez, Reese Olson and Sawyer Gipson-Long.

Lastly, Andrew Graham’s promotion to Erie also makes sense. Players like Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Josue Briceño, who Graham managed in Lakeland, may see time as SeaWolves in 2025. When the Tigers player development machine was pumping out the core of the 1984 Tigers World Series team, it was common to see players play with managers at different stops in the minors. 

Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland was the skipper in Lakeland when they won back-to-back titles in 1976 and 1977. He then won a title with Triple-A Evansville in 1979.  Manager Fred Hatfred did something similar, winning back-to-back titles with Double-A Montgomery in 1972 and 1973, then winning a title at the Triple-A level in 1975.  

The Tigers, as a collective organization in the minor leagues in 2024, won the most games with four teams making post-season appearances and two winning titles. (Erie, FCL Tigers). With Alvarez at the helm at Toledo in 2025, perhaps he can end a post-season drought that goes back to 2018.

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