Phillies hire Joe Dillon as hitting coach

The Phillies have hired Joe Dillon as their new hitting coach, per NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury.

Dillon previously served as the assistant hitting coach for the Washington Nationals since 2018. The former Texas Tech Red Raider also played in the majors from 2005 to 2009 with the Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays with a stint in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants in-between.

Other candidates for the job included former Phillies hitting coach Matt Stairs and Chili Davis. Stairs served as hitting coach in 2017, but did not return after the team fired Pete Mackanin and could not guarantee Stairs that he would remain on the staff with a new manager. Davis will return as Mets hitting coach after the club re-signed him to a two-year contract.

With Dillon’s hiring, Joe Girardi’s coaching staff is now complete. New hires include pitching coach Bryan Price and infield coach Juan Castro.

Dillon will succeed Charlie Manuel, who took the position on an interim basis after John Mallee was fired in August. It is expected that Manuel will resume his role as Special Advisor to the General Manager.

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