Friday night at Truist Park, when a handful of Braves hitters rotated in the batting cage before the season opener, it took the appearance of any other batting practice session.
However, it happened to be the first one that Wigberto Nevarez, the Braves’ new bullpen catcher, had ever thrown before a major league game.
It followed literally hundreds of BP rounds that he had thrown in the franchise’s minor-league system, one of many duties he had filled as a Braves minor-league coach since his hire in 2018. That job followed four seasons as a catcher in the organization’s system, a career that never reached Double-A.
In short, it was Nevarez’s first day in the major leagues.
At first, Nevarez said, he felt butterflies as he threw BP.
“It’s been kind of surreal, but soaking it all in and having fun,” Nevarez — known within the organization as “Wiggy” — told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as the first pitch approached.
The sun was beginning to set. The stadium crackled with the energy of opening day. And Nevarez — a married father of two, a man whose entire professional career has been with the Braves — was minutes away from his first game as a member of a major league coaching staff.
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Credit: Ken Sugiura
Just about everyone in Truist was aware that Walt Weiss was making his debut as Braves manager. Far fewer knew about the life moment that the new bullpen catcher was experiencing.
Another member of new manager Walt Weiss’ staff, major league coach Eddie Pérez, did.
“It means a lot to me, because maybe I’m part of it or not, but I kept telling him, ‘Keep working hard, keep doing what you’re doing, learn about catching, learn about this stuff and you’ll be fine,’” Pérez told the AJC at the batting cage as Nevarez threw. “Look at him now. It feels good.”
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, the 34-year-old Nevarez was drafted by the organization in 2014, a 20th-round pick out of Lubbock Christian. He played four seasons at catcher and first base, peaking at High-A.
After the 2017 season, Nevarez retired from playing and accepted a coaching job in the team’s minor league system. (Braves fans may recognize the similarity with Brian Snitker, who was also made a minor-league coach after fizzling out as a minor-league catcher, beginning a long trek toward ultimately leading the franchise to the 2021 World Series title.)
He began with the organization’s Gulf Coast League entry in 2018 and moved up to Single-A Rome. After the 2020 minor-league season was canceled by COVID, he was again promoted for ’21, this time to Triple-A Gwinnett.
With the Stripers, Nevarez was a bench coach, at different times coached first and third base, worked with the team’s catchers and threw batting practice.
“He’s a good worker, a hardworking guy,” Stripers manager Kanekoa Texeira told the AJC on Friday, hours before his own team’s opener. “Digs deep into all the analytical stuff. Always tries to be up to date with everything. He does it all for the kids, doesn’t do it for himself.”
Among other roles, he worked a good bit with Drake Baldwin to get him ready for his NL Rookie of the Year season in 2025.
Coaching catchers has become a specialty and source of pride. Pérez, the former Braves catcher, has been a mentor. So were former Braves minor-league catching coordinators Jeff Datz and JD Closser. Working with veteran catchers at Gwinnett such as Sandy León, James McCann and Jonathan Lucroy was educational, too.
“He’s a great dude,” Pérez said. “I love that guy. Great catching guy.”
After the 2025 season, with the coaching staff in flux following Snitker’s retirement, Nevarez got a call from the club asking if he was interested in being a bullpen catcher for the major league team. Nevarez’s answer was yes.
A couple days later, at his family’s home in Orlando, Florida, he got another call telling him that the job was his. It says something about how peers such as Pérez surely vouched for Nevarez that he didn’t even have to interview for the job.
“I remember I was in the middle of my living room and they told me,” Nevarez said. “I kind of went to tears. My wife (Giovanna) was there. It was a cool moment. It was awesome.”
During the team’s workout at Truist on Thursday, as he set up in the bullpen to catch for the pitching staff, another cool moment washed over him.
“It was kind of empty (in the stadium), not many people, and I was out there by myself,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Man, I’m really here.’”
Where does he go from here?
That’s a question for another day.
Nevarez’s 12-year journey to the majors has finally reached its destination.
For now, that’s quite enough.
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