The West Michigan Whitecaps have a new leader on the field.

The Whitecaps, in conjunction with the Detroit Tigers, named Brayan Peña as the team’s new manager, according to the Whitecaps yesterday.

He replaces Lance Parrish, who was re-assigned as a special assistant to Al Avila, the EVP of baseball operations and general manager of the Tigers.

Peña was the manager of the Connecticut Tigers last season.

“Brayan will be a welcome addition to our clubhouse,” said Jim Jarecki, VP and GM, West Michigan Whitecaps. “We’ve heard nothing but great things about Brayan. He’s a rising manager in the Tigers system.

“Brayan joins a long line of former Tigers to take over as Whitecaps manager. Peña was a fan favorite in Detroit, and we look forward to the experience he brings to the dugout.”

Peña played pro baseball for 12 years.

He was a part of the 2013 Tigers Central Division Championship roster. At the end of that season, he had a .297 batting average, while playing in 71 games as the backup catcher.

Peña became the primary catcher for the Cincinnati Reds in 2014 and 2015. He played his final big-league season for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016.

In 2018, he became manager of the Tigers West Gulf Coast League team, where he led them to their first-ever league championship.