Phillies will bring back coaching staff, add a new bench coach, and extend Rob Thomson’s contract
Mike Calitri will move to the role of major league field coordinator. The Phillies will look outside the organization for a new bench coach.
The Phillies won’t be making sweeping coaching changes ahead of the 2026 season, but they will be adding a new face.
After another early postseason exit last week, questions arose surrounding manager Rob Thomson’s future with the club, as well as members of the coaching staff, such as hitting coach Kevin Long.
But president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced Thursday at a news conference at Citizens Bank Park that the Phillies will add a year to Thomson’s contract this winter and that all of his coaches will return for next season, with one new opening.
Mike Calitri, who replaced Thomson as bench coach in 2022 when he took over for the fired Joe Girardi, will move to the role of major-league field coordinator. The Phillies will look outside the organization for a new bench coach.
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“Mike’s going to be doing exactly what he was doing last year,” Thomson said. “All the organization, spring training, on a daily basis during the season, get all the information, run our advanced meetings. What we’re really doing is adding a guy, another set of eyes, maybe new perspective, different perspective on our club, new ideas. But I’m still going to be utilizing everyone on that bench, including Mike, for information during the game.
“I just think it adds, hopefully, an experienced guy, that is just a different perspective. And makes us a little bit better.”
Ideally, the new bench coach would have managerial experience, Dombrowski said.
“We’ll see when we get down to it,” he said. “There’s eight big-league manager’s jobs available still, there’s already been three hired. I don’t know how all the things are going to shake out in that regard.”
Thomson said the Phillies have discussed this addition to their staff going back to last season. He will be involved in the hiring process. Several major-league teams have a similar setup, a list that notably includes the Dodgers. Bob Geren serves as Los Angeles’ field coordinator, while Danny Lehmann is Dave Roberts’ bench coach.
Thomson came under fire during the National League Division Series for some of his decision-making, but Dombrowski expressed confidence in his manager. Thomson’s contract runs through 2026, but the Phillies plan to extend him at some point during the offseason to avoid his being a lame duck.
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“I think he’s a good manager, is really what it comes down to,” Dombrowski said. “And there’s so many qualities when you talk about a manager that’s a good manager. He knows the game very well, he’s inside and out in that regard. He communicates with his players. He works hard. I don’t think he leaves any stone unturned. ...
“You make mistakes, or you make things that can be questioned, but you do it with sound reason. I think there’s way too much emphasis that’s always placed on ‘That didn’t go well,’ or ‘This didn’t go well.’ It’s different than if you’re doing something that just doesn’t make sense. ... You review the overall picture of what somebody does. And I think he does a really good job for us.”
Looking back on the playoff series against the Dodgers, Thomson said he did not regret any in-game choices.
“Not necessarily in the four games, but what I would have done differently is checked a few more boxes going into the playoffs,” Thomson said. “As far as David Robertson having an up-down. He hadn’t had one. Bringing [Matt] Strahm in the middle of an inning, we didn’t check that box. Tried to. Would it have made a difference? I don’t know, but I know that if we check that box, I could sleep a little bit better.”
Cold bats have plagued the Phillies for the last two postseasons. Collectively, the team hit .212 with a .358 slugging percentage in four games against the Dodgers. The Phillies’ top three bats — Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper — went 10-for-48 (.208).
When that happens, the spotlight is often shifted to the hitting coach. When asked about his confidence in Long and the Phillies’ hitting program, Dombrowski pointed toward their regular-season track record.
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“Kevin Long’s an exceptionally good hitting coach,” he said. “And with Dustin Lind and Rafael Pena, I think we have a good hitting program. Can always get better, right? Nobody’s perfect, by any means, but I think they’re very good. We’re among the league leaders in so many different categories. We had a league leader in home runs, RBIs, and batting average, and we’re pretty high up there in runs scored. I think we improved our plate discipline this year to some extent, didn’t chase quite as much.
“Believe me, it’s frustrating. You get there and you go year in and year out, and you get beat. That was a really good pitching staff we faced in the postseason. ... It’s really, really hard, and that was really, really good pitching. I can’t put that on Kevin and the staff.”