Juan Nieves

Juan Manuel Nieves Cruz (born January 5, 1965) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball pitcher and coach who is currently the assistant pitching coach for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1988. He has coached in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, and Miami Marlins.

Playing career Nieves was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers, with a $115,000 signing bonus, after he had a 19–1 win–loss record with a 1.05 earned run average (ERA) during his senior season at the Avon Old Farms school in Connecticut.

On April 15, 1987, Nieves threw a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles, becoming the first Puerto Rican pitcher in Major League history to do so. He threw the only no-hitter for the Brewers until 2021.

Nieves was mostly a starter, but on September 5, 1988, he earned his only career save against the White Sox. He threw one perfect inning, closing out a 5–2 Brewers victory and saving the game for starter Don August.

After playing for the Brewers from 1986 to 1988, he suffered a career-ending arm injury. He was mentored by Don Cooper, first when Cooper was the White Sox' roving coordinator in their minor league hierarchy, and later when Cooper became the pitching coach of the Sox. They became really close, adapting similar pitching styles, and Nieves was named as "Cooper's right-hand man".

Nieves spent the next three seasons as pitching coach for the Miami Marlins, being dismissed after the 2018 season.

On November 6, 2020, the Detroit Tigers named Nieves as the team's assistant pitching coach for the 2021 season. Nieves had spent the previous two seasons as the pitching coach for the Toledo Mud Hens, the Tigers Triple-A affiliate.