Phillies fire hitting, infield coaches after another disappointing 2021 season

After yesterday’s loss to the Miami Marlins, the Phillies finished the 2021 season with a record of 82-80. They have missed the playoffs for the 10th straight season. This organization is absolutely miserable. Of course, there are bright spots that include an MVP-caliber season from Bryce Harper and a CY Young candidate in Zack Wheeler, but outside of those two players, nothing really panned out for the Phillies this season. You can throw in Ranger Suarez, Jean Segura and a “what if” for Rhys Hoskins, if you’re feeling nice, but if you’re not ready yet, I understand.
Undoubtedly there will be moves throughout the offseason. Dave Dombrowski and Sam Fuld do not have much time to waste and are expected to be busy until pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater in just over four months. The first moves have already happened, as the Phillies have fired hitting coach Joe Dillon and infield coach Juan Castro before yesterday’s finale in Miami. Assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero was also notified that he can seek another job, as the new hitting coach will have the option to hire his own assistant.
As their record shows, the Phillies were the definition of mediocre. Joe Dillion joined the Phillies from the Nationals in 2018. Here’s how the Phillies finished from the plate this year.
- .240 Batting Average (18th)
- 4.53 Runs per Game (13th)
- .726 OPS (14th)
- .248 RISP (19th)
As for Juan Castro, well, the majority of Phillies fans should already know this. The infield defense was by far one of the worst, if not they worst in the entire MLB with a -48 Run Differential (28th). Alec Bohm was so bad at third base that he had to be sent down to the minor leagues. It felt like Didi Gregorius, when playing, made an error every night, and Rhys Hoskins was less than stellar at first base when healthy. How much of the slopping infield is on the coach? Probably not a lot, but it makes sense why a change would be needed there.
Plenty of days to dive in to the rest of the Phillies organization and roster. Not going to go into any further details today. Enjoy the MLB Playoffs. Cardinals-Dodgers and Red Sox-Yankees should be great Wild Card games.
Hell of a Phillies season (not really). As other reporters will leave you with well wishes and thanks, I offer you this instead:
Oh…to all the people online saying the Phillies should trade Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler for prospects, that’s really really dumb. Don’t do that. Thanks.
[…] coach. News broke a few weeks ago stating that the Phillies would be moving on from hitting coach Joe Dillon and infield coach Juan Castro. Now, the organization has hired Kevin Long from the Washington Nationals to be their new hitting […]
[…] Philadelphia Phillies offseason is in full effect. After firing hitting coach Joe Dillon and infield coach Juan Castro, the Phillies made news this week by hiring Kevin Long to replace Dillon. Of course, the focus of […]