LA CROSSE, WIS. – The Seattle Mariners announced last week the promotion of Arkansas Travelers (Double-A) pitching coach and 2009 La Crosse Loggers pitcher Pete Woodworth to the Major League staff.

Woodworth earned Texas League Coach of the Year last season after leading the Travelers to a 81-57 record and 3.09 team Earned Run Average (ERA). The Arkansas pitching staff also collected 1,324 strikeouts in 2019, the second highest total in Texas League history.

The 31-year-old Florida native has excelled in internal development for the Seattle organization, working with the Mariners’ top pitching prospects on their path to the Major League club. Justin Dunn and Justus Sheffield both ended the season with the Mariners, while former first-round pick Logan Gilbert could arrive as early as the 2020 season. Woodworth will have the opportunity to work with a number of players he has helped develop in the minor leagues as he looks to improve a Mariners pitching staff that ranked 23rd in the MLB in ERA last season (4.99 ERA).

During his playing career, Woodworth was a valuable piece of the 2009 La Crosse Loggers team that finished 41-27 at the top of the Northwoods League South Division. The 6-foot-2 right-handed pitcher made 12 starts for the Loggers that summer, posting a 4.75 ERA over 64.1 innings. Woodworth also made a postseason start for the Loggers, allowing just one run on two hits over 5.0 innings in a no-decision effort.

Woodworth joins Coulee Region native Scott Servais (Mariners manager) and former Loggers manager Andy McKay (Mariners Director of Player Development) in the Seattle organization for the 2020 season.