Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson expected to take position with Padres

Newly-minted Phillies manager Joe Girardi will likely have another position on his staff to fill.

Infield coach Bobby Dickerson is expected to become the bench coach of the San Diego Padres, according to MLB.com‘s AJ Cassavell.

Dickerson served as infield coach for one season in Philadelphia. He had previously coached in the Orioles organization from 2010-2018, holding the third base coach job from 2013-2018.

This move will reunite Dickerson with Padres’ third baseman Manny Machado, a player he coached for years in Baltimore. This connection between Dickerson and Machado was a big story-line last offseason. Many believed that the hiring of Dickerson in January could have been a sign that the Phillies were signing Machado in free agency.

Dickerson was responsible in helping to improve the defense of the Phillies in 2019. He used unorthodox drills to try to get the infield ready after an abysmal 2018 season in the field. The Phillies saw a good amount of progress defensively in Dickerson’s tenure. The team’s infield posted 2 defensive runs saved in 2019 after it had -54 the season prior.

The departure of Dickerson leaves another vacancy in the Phillies coaching staff. The team had just hired Bryan Price to replace Chris Young as pitching coach on Thursday. They still have to hire a hitting coach in replace of interim hitting coach Charlie Manuel, who stepped in after the firing of John Mallee. Finding a new infield coach for 2020 will now be another priority as the Phillies will look to return to the postseason for the first time since 2011.

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