Phillies to Hire Juan Castro as Major League Infield Coach
By Matt Rappa
The Phillies have reportedly hired Juan Castro as their major league infield coach, replacing Bobby Dickerson on manager Joe Girardi’s staff.
Juan Castro played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1995 to 2011. Of of those seasons, 2010, was with the Phillies, in which he slashed .198/.237/.238 with five doubles and 13 RBI over 54 games.
Now, Castro, 47, will return to the Phillies, one decade later, as the team’s major league infield coach, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi.
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Castro has recently served as manager of the Mexican National Team competing in this month’s WBSC Premier12, the top international baseball event of the year and Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifier.
Castro joins the Phillies major league coaching with prior additional managerial experience in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP) and Mexican Baseball League (LMB). He spent the last MLB season as the Phillies’ minor-league infield coordinator, and previously was on the Los Angeles’ Dodgers staff prior as a quality assurance coach, minor-league infield coordinator, and assistant to the general manager, among other roles.
As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki notes, Castro is the first former Phillies’ player to be on the coaching staff since former hitting coach Matt Stairs in 2017. The Los Mochis, Mexico, native replaces Bobby Dickerson, who recently left the Phillies after just one year to become the bench coach for the San Diego Padres.
Castro was originally signed by the Dodgers as an amateur free agent out of Mexico in 1991; in addition to playing for the Phillies, he also logged time with the Dodgers (1995-99, 2009, 2010, 2011), Cincinnati Reds (2000-04, 2006-08), Minnesota Twins (2005-06), and Baltimore Orioles (2008). In addition to playing mostly shortstop in his career, Castro also played second and third base.
Perhaps Castro’s most remembered career highlight, at least among Phillies fans, was fielding the final out of the late Roy Halladay‘s perfect game against the Florida Marlins on May 29, 2010. Halladay tragically passed away exactly two years and one day ago, November 7, 2017.
Now, Castro joins pitching coach Bryan Price as new members of manager Joe Girardi‘s coaching staff. The team looks to regroup and compete, for its first postseason appearance since 2011, in 2020.