According to a report from NBC Sport Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury, the Philadelphia Phillies are moving on from both hitting coach Kevin Long, and infield coach Bobby Dickerson.
The moves come after a recent report that Don Mattingly was set to be named the full-time manager of the club, so it's clear that the Phils are trying to quickly organize their staff ahead of what could be a bumpy offseason.Long has been an integral part of Philadelphia's offensive rebuild. After joining in 2021, the Phillies would of course reach a World Series just one season later. While that feat was never repeated in his tenure, the offense remained in the upper echelon of Major League Baseball outfits until 2026. The Phils ranked 27th in home runs, 10th in batting average, and a lowly 23rd in OBP. For context, they ranked 2nd in batting average and 4th in on base percentage just one year ago.
Dickerson's role in Philly was a little trickier to evaluate. He did help the likes of Trea Turner and Alec Bohm to reach scintillating new levels, and while all the metrics pointed downward in 2026, the team did of course lose their most recent addition, Luis Arráez, to an injury.
The more concerning factor though was Trea Turner's regression. To go from such a stunning revitalization to a sudden downfall is rare for a player of his caliber, and the addition of Arráez seemed to have a knock-on effect across the rest of the infield, with players shuffling to new spots and disrupting what was a pretty reliable group.
It will be interesting to see where the Phillies go from here and what other decisions are made in the coming days and weeks. Don Mattingly will be back for next season, but just how many of the current staffers will be joining him?
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