Phillies hire two coaches
Rick Kranitz and John McLaren join the team as bullpen and catching coaches respectively.
THE PHILLIES are in the final stages of piecing together Pete Mackanin's coaching staff for his first full season on the job.
The team announced the hiring of Rick Kranitz and John McLaren on Wednesday and also said it had agreed to terms on 2016 contracts for pitching coach Bob McClure and hitting coach Steve Henderson.
Kranitz, 57, will be the bullpen coach, replacing Rod Nichols. Kranitz has spent the last five seasons as the Milwaukee Brewers pitching coach. He was named Major League Coach of the Year by Baseball America in 2006 while with the Florida Marlins and also spent 22 seasons coaching in the Chicago Cubs organization.
McLaren, 64, will serve as the catching coach, effectively taking former assistant hitting coach John Mizerock's place on the coaching staff. A former minor league catcher, McLaren has spent the last four years as a scout for the Oakland Athletics. McLaren has served as in interim manager three times during a 23-year major league coaching career, one that's seen him make stops at Toronto (1986-90), Boston (1991), Cincinnati (1992), Seattle (1993-2002; 2007), Tampa (2003-05) and Washington (2010-11).
The two uncertainties on Mackanin's 2016 staff are Larry Bowa and Juan Samuel, two Wall of Fame Phillies players and popular figures within the organization and city. Both have been asked to return to the Phillies, but neither is a guarantee to return. Bowa went back for a second interview for the Miami Marlins manager vacancy last week, and Samuel, who interviewed for the Phillies' full-time managerial position last month, also could be listening to opportunities with other teams.
In addition to finalizing the coaching staff, the Phillies obviously are still searching for a general manager. They could reach the finish line before the end of the month.
According to a Foxsports.com report, Oakland Athletics assistant general manager Dan Kantrovitz will interview a second time for the GM vacancy. Among the reported candidates, two assistant GMs, Los Angeles Angels' Matt Klentak and Kansas City Royals' J.J. Picollo, have been labeled favorites seemingly from the get-go of the search, which began when Ruben Amaro Jr. was fired on Sept. 10. Others in consideration include Thad Levine (Texas' assistant GM), Kim Ng (MLB commissioner's office), Matt Slater (St. Louis' director of player personnel), Ross Atkins (Cleveland's VP of player personnel) and Ben Cherington (formerly the GM in Boston).
Team president Andy MacPhail has said it would be "ambitious" for the Phillies to hire a new GM before the front office holds its annual organizational meetings, which begin Monday in Clearwater, Fla. Major League Baseball's general manager meetings take place in Boca Raton, Fla., the week of Nov. 9.