Phillies extend Rob Thomson, hire 2 assistant hitting coaches

The Phillies signed manager Rob Thomson to a one-year extension, the team announced Monday. Thomson is now under contract through the 2025 season.

The team also announced the hiring of two assistant hitting coaches, former Giants director of hitting, assistant hitting coach Dustin Lind and former Astros minor league hitting coordinator Rafael Peña. The Phillies will carry three hitting coaches, up from two in 2023, with Kevin Long returning in 2024.

Thomson, 60, was entering the final year of the initial two-year contract extension he signed with the team prior to the beginning of the 2022 National League Division Series.

When asked about entering 2024 as a “lame duck” manager, Thomson said “it doesn’t really bother me.”

“My whole career, I’ve never worried about my contract,” Thomson said in October. “I’ve never worried about the length of my contract. I’ve never worried about getting fired. It just doesn’t enter my [mind] because I can’t control it. I just can’t.”

Lind and Peña are both intriguing adds. Lind was part of the highly regarded 2021 Giants coaching staff that helped propel a team of veterans many thought were past their prime to a 107-win season. He began his coaching career as an independent consultant and was hired by the Mariners in 2018 as a minor league quality assurance coach. Lind has a doctorate in physical therapy and has a background in biomechanics.

Peña spent six seasons in the Astros organization. He was hired as a developmental coach for the Astros’ Low-A club in 2018 and finished his tenure with Houston as the team’s top minor league hitting coach.

The Phillies are looking to improve their chase rate in response to their struggles to stay in the zone in both the NLCS and at the beginning of the regular season. Those improvements will have to come internally and it appears the Phillies, by adding a third hitting coach, hope that improvement will be facilitated through coaching.

Earlier this offseason, the Phillies promoted former IronPigs pitching coach César Ramos to the major league staff and named him the team’s bullpen coach.

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