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The Philadelphia Phillies have reshuffled their coaching staff, as they’ve let go of a handful of assistant coaches while making room for Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs manager Ryne Sandberg on their team.
The former Hall of Fame second baseman was promoted from the coach of the team’s top minor league team to the spot as the third-base coach and hitting instructor. Sandberg had been the manager of the IronPigs for two seasons.
The Phillies fired first-base coach Sam Perlozzo, hitting coach Greg Gross, and bench coach Pete Mackanin. The Phillies then promoted Steve Henderson to hitting coach and Rod Nichols to the bullpen coach.
GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. has gone out of his way to declare Sandberg is in no way the manager of the future, saying the following:
“The fact of the matter is he’s not the heir apparent. We made no promises to Ryne Sandberg,” Amaro said Thursday. “Ryne Sandberg is part of this coaching staff and we’re happy to have him. I think Ryne is going to get an opportunity to be a major league manager at some point, whether it’s with the Phillies or with another club, we don’t know.”
But Charlie Manuel is entering the final year of his contract next year, and I doubt the Phillies will be renewing his contract given the fact that he’s nearly 70 years old. Manuel has had a lot of success as the manager, winning a World Series and five NL East division titles. I think Manuel may just retire after next year because I think the Phillies are high on Sandberg.
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