Garcia to manage Curve in 2013

ALTOONA, Pa. -- Former Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star Carlos Garcia will manage the 2013 Altoona Curve, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced today. Garcia, who spent the past two seasons as the manager of the Class A Advanced Bradenton Marauders, will be joined in Altoona by returning hitting coach Ryan Long and athletic trainer Mike Zalno. Stan Kyles, who spent the past three-and-a-half seasons as the bullpen coach for Milwaukee Brewers, will be the Curve's new pitching coach in 2013. With Garcia's appointment as manager, he becomes the second former Pirates player to steer a Curve club in team history and the first since Dale Sveum was skipper from 2001-03.

Garcia, 45, piloted the Marauders to a 134-140 record across the last two seasons, which included a trip to the postseason in 2011. Prior to his time in Bradenton, Garcia spent the 2010 season as the first base coach and infield instructor for the Pirates at the Major League level. All told, 2013 will mark Garcia's sixth season in the Pirates organization after three years as the first base coach and infield instructor for Seattle. His coaching stay in the Pirates chain began in 2008, when he served as the club's Minor League infield coordinator.

Garcia also managed Magallanes in the Venezuelan Winter League in 2009 and 2011. In 2009, the native of Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela, led Magallanes to a 41-22 regular-season record and a berth in the Championship Series (a series which they lost to Caracas, 4-3). His overall coaching career began in the Cleveland Indians chain as a player-coach in 2002.

As a player, Garcia made his Major League debut Sept. 20, 1990, as a member of the Buccos and singled as a pinch hitter versus the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. He hit a career-high 12 home runs for Pittsburgh in 1993, with his first career roundtripper coming inside-the-park off Orel Hershiser at Dodger Stadium on April 16 that same season. His Major League career spanned 1990-99, with stops in Pittsburgh (1990-96), Toronto (1997), Anaheim (1998) and San Diego (1999).

Also heading to Altoona for his first stint in 2013 will be Kyles, who spent 11 seasons as a pitcher in the Minor Leagues before beginning his coaching career. Prior to his term as the bullpen coach for Milwaukee, Kyles served as the pitching coach for three seasons at Triple-A Nashville from 2005-08. His other stops as a pitching coach in the Brewers system included Triple-A Indianapolis (2004), Double-A Huntsville (2002-03) and Class A Advanced High Desert (2001). Before his time with Milwaukee, Kyles coached in the Cubs' (1992-93, 1997-2000) and Rockies' (1994-96) farm systems.

A fourth-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 1979, Kyles played in the Cubs' Minor League system from 1979-1983. His MiLB career also saw him stop in Oakland (1984-87), Los Angeles (NL) (1988), San Francisco (1989) and Milwaukee (1989). In 279 career games (120 starts), Kyles posted a career ERA of 3.86 and a won-loss record of 52-56.

Back for another season in Altoona will be Long, who served in the same capacity as hitting coach in 2012 and from 2009-2010. The 2013 campaign marks Long's 13th as a coach and his fifth as a hitting instructor in the Pittsburgh system. Before working as a member of the Pirates Minor League system, Long spent six seasons in the Chicago White Sox organization and two with the Kansas City Royals.

Rounding out the 2013 Curve staff will be Zalno, who will spend a third straight season in Altoona after notching back-to-back New York-Penn League Trainer of the Year awards in 2009-10 with State College. Zalno's 2013 campaign marks his 11th season with the Pirates organization since beginning his career as a trainer for the GCL Pirates in 2003. A native of Clearfield, Pa., Zalno graduated from Duquesne University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science degree in athletic training before obtaining his Master of Science degree in sports administration from Eastern Kentucky in 2001.

The Pirates also announced their other Minor League coaching staff assignments, which included a number of former Curve coaches. In Triple-A, Dean Treanor, who was Altoona's pitching coach in 2009, will once again serve as manager with Tom Filer (2010 Curve) as his pitching coach.

At the Class A level, 2012 Curve coach Michael Ryan, who is a native of Indiana, Pa., will get his first Minor League managerial assignment as the skipper of the West Virginia Power. He'll be joined in Charleston by last season's Curve pitching coach, Jeff Johnson, who will serve in that capacity in 2013 with the Power.

Kory DeHaan, who played in Altoona in 1999, will be the hitting coach for the Pirates' newest affiliate in Jamestown (New York-Penn League). In the Gulf Coast League, 2006-2009 Curve catcher Milver Reyes will skipper the Pirates, after a season as a player-coach in 2012.