Phillies Not Retaining Kevin Long, Bobby Dickerson

The Phillies will be moving on from hitting coach Kevin Long and infield coach Bobby Dickerson, reports Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Long, 59, was hired as the club’s hitting coach going into the 2022 season. He previously held that title with the Yankees, Mets and Nationals. His first season in Washington, 2018, was Bryce Harper’s last before hitting free agency and signing with Philadelphia. The Phils were rebuilding at that time, missing the playoffs in each season from 2012 to 2021. In that latter campaign, the team-wide batting line was .240/.318/.408, leading to a 94 wRC+.

The first season under Long was a success. The Phils hit .253/.317/.422 in 2022 for a wRC+ of 107. They made a run to the World Series, though they lost to the Astros. After that one year in Philadelphia, Long was signed to an extension of unknown length.

For the next three seasons, things largely held steady. From 2023 to 2025, the club had a combined .257/.327/.431 line and 106 wRC+. The Phils made the playoffs in all three of those years, though they lost in the NLCS in 2023 and the NLDS in the two following years.

2026 was a step back. As a team, they hit .240/.312/.395. That led to a wRC+ of 92, which was better than only the Reds and Rockies. 11 players made at least 130 plate appearances for the Phillies this year. Only Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Bryson Stott produced a wRC+ greater than 90. Lineup staples like Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto had down years. Luis Arraez saw his numbers dip after being acquired from the Giants at the deadline.

It’s always hard to pin a club’s success or failure on one coach but the Phillies are making decisions about next year’s staff and have opted for change here. Earlier today, interim manager Don Mattingly had the interim tag removed as he was signed to a two-year deal to skipper the club in 2027 and 2028. Mattingly took over in April when Rob Thomson was fired and perhaps had some ideas about how to shake up a staff that he inherited midseason.

Dickerson has over a decade as a big league coach. Since 2011, he has worked for the Orioles, Padres and Phillies, variously holding the titles of bullpen coach, third base coach, bench coach and infield coach. He was hired as infield coach for the Phillies in October of 2021.

The Phillies have had poor defensive metrics for years, though blaming that on any staff member would be difficult. The club has clearly prioritized offense over defense in its roster construction. They have signed bat-first players like Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. They have given lots of playing time to Alec Bohm at third base, despite his awful numbers there. At the deadline, they shook up their alignment in order to put Arraez at second base, moving Stott to third, Bohm to first and Harper to right field.

For what it’s worth, the Phillies had a collective mark of minus-51 from Defensive Runs Saved this year, tied with the Athletics for last in the league. Outs Above Average had them at minus-21, in the bottom third of MLB teams. Bohm and Turner were graded poorly by both metrics. Stott did well with OAA but not DRS. Harper’s first base work was neutral in the eyes of DRS but subpar according to OAA.