Phillies 2023 player development staff includes Sarah Edwards, the club’s first female field coach

Wednesday, February 1 is National Girls & Women in Sports Day. On Tuesday, the Phillies announced its 2023 player development field staff and it includes Sarah Edwards, the club’s first female field staffer in team history.

The number of women hired to work within the club’s baseball operations department, including player development, has grown over the years, but Edwards is the first female on-field coach in Phillies history.

Edwards, 26, will serve as a hitting development coach in the Florida Complex League (rookie ball). Matt Gelb of The Athletic was first to point out the historic hire.

Edwards played Division I softball at the University of Buffalo and Hofstra. A former member of the Italian National Softball Team, Edwards has also coached baseball and softball in Italy and New Zealand.

Other notable additions to farm director Preston Mattingly’s staff include:

• Former Phillie Brock Stassi as the High-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws’ hitting coach.
• Former Diamondbacks interim manager Al Pedrique, who was hired to manage the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils. He was the Marlins’ third-base coach and infield coach in 2022. Former Reading manager Shawn Williams remains in the organization as the Florida Complex League team manager.
• Triple-A Lehigh Valley’s Anthony Contreras and Class-A Clearwater’s Marty Malloy return as managers of their respective teams. Former Phillies catching coach Greg Brodzinski was promoted to manager of the High-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws. He served as the IronPigs’ bench coach in 2022. Former High A manager Keith Werman will work as a coordinator in the FCL.

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