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Edgardo Alfonzo to Return for Third Year in Brooklyn

By Jacob Resnick

February 12, 2019 No comments

The Brooklyn Cyclones announced their 2019 coaching staff on Tuesday, and it’s headlined by the return of manager Edgardo Alfonzo for his third season at the helm on Coney Island.

The team will also have a new set of coaches, which features pitching coach Josue Matos, hitting coach Delwyn Young, and the previously reported Endy Chavez as an assistant coach. Both Matos and Young spent last season in the same roles at Kingsport, while Chavez takes his first professional coaching job after ending his playing career with the independent Somerset Patriots in 2018.

Alfonzo, a National League All-Star in 2000, assumed managerial duties in 2017 after spending three seasons as the Cyclones’ bench coach. Under Alfonzo in 2018, Brooklyn finished 40-35, good for the team’s first winning season since 2014. The 2018 squad also led the New York-Penn League in hitting (.259 AVG, .706 OPS) and runs scored (360).

Matos joins Brooklyn after two seasons with Kingsport and one with the GCL Mets. The Puerto Rico native played in parts of nine seasons in the Mariners, Blue Jays, and Phillies organizations.

Young, who joined the organization last year, carries 344 games of major league experience with the Dodgers and Pirates. The switch-hitter made his major league debut against the Mets in 2006 and went on to hit 17 home runs. Brooklyn’s hitting coach in 2018, Marlon Anderson, was reassigned within the organization as the minor league baserunning and outfield coordinator.

The Cyclones begin the 2019 NYPL season on June 14 at home against the Staten Island Yankees.