Phillies bring back Bobby Dickerson as infield coach

“Bobby was highly recommended by our players who worked with him in 2019, they loved him,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “I saw firsthand the impact he had on the Orioles’ defense all those years and I believe he will be a huge addition to our staff.”

The 56-year-old Dickerson spent 14 seasons with the Orioles in various positions, first as a player development coach before serving as a third-base coach over two separate stints. He also was on the player development staffs of the Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Dickerson spent one year with the Phillies in 2019 as an infield coach before spending the last two years as a bench and third-base coach.

He also worked with a Padres defense whose infield combined for 34 defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs, which ranked third out of 15 National League teams behind only the Colorado Rockies (73 DRS) and St. Louis Cardinals (41 DRS). San Diego’s infield also combined for 30 outs above average from 2020-21, which ranked third in the NL and fourth in Major League Baseball behind the St. Louis Cardinals (43), New York Mets (32), and Kansas City Royals (32). Dickerson was named 2020 MLB Coach of the Year by Baseball America.

The Phillies could certainly use the help. They ranked last in all of baseball with minus-52 defensive runs saved, per Fangraphs, in 2021.

Girardi’s staff is in the midst of an upheaval after the Phillies fired hitting coach Joe Dillon, and previous infield coach Juan Castro while assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero was told he could search for other jobs.

He already filled the hitting-coach void by bringing on the well-respected Kevin Long, who worked with Girardi while with the New York Yankees before helping the Washington Nationals win a World Series in 2019.