The Phillies are 9-19 and tied for the worst record in baseball, and on Sunday, after a 6-2 loss to the Braves, Rob Thomson made clear where he stands on Kevin Long. The manager called Long one of the best hitting coaches in the game and said there are a couple of Hall of Famers who would back that up.
That defense carried weight because the Phillies signed Long to a three-year contract during the offseason after he drew robust interest as a coaching free agent from rival clubs. Since arriving in 2022, he has helped produce a top-ten scoring offense every season, which makes this year’s collapse harder to ignore. The Phillies are 28th in runs with 102, ahead of only the Giants at 97 and the Mets at 92.
The numbers undercut almost everything the Phillies have built around their lineup. They are hitting.219/.294/.362 as a team, and right now Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are the only hitters they can count on. Brandon Marsh has a.795 OPS, Edmundo Sosa is at.721, and Trea Turner is batting.230 with a.658 OPS. Bryson Stott has a.541 OPS, and Alec Bohm is 180th among qualified hitters with a.412 OPS.
That slump has the Phillies pacing a 52-win season if it does not turn, a crash from the standard they set in recent years. Thomson’s comments suggest the organization still trusts Long, and the reputation he carries inside the clubhouse and across the sport remains high. But if this funk lasts another week or two, major changes could follow, and the next move may say as much about the lineup as it does about the coach who still has the manager’s backing.