Categories: News

Phillies reportedly hire 3 to coaching staff

In a flurry late this Friday afternoon, the Phillies reportedly made three coaching staff hirings.

that Rick Kranitz, who was re-hired to be part of Gabe Kapler’s coaching staff, will in fact be pitching coach in 2018. Then they announced Chris Young will be his assistant pitching coach.

Kranitz was previously Bob McClure’s assistant pitching coach. Before that he was pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles and Florida Marlins. Young won a world championship with the Astros as their major league scouting supervisor last season.

Todd Zolecki then reported that the Phillies are going to hire Rob Thomson as bench coach. Thomson was Joe Girardi’s bench coach with the Yankees and was a finalist to fill New York’s managerial opening.

* The original version of this article said the Phillies had reportedly finished their hirings, but there is one spot on the staff still open. The piece has been edited to reflect that change.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.