Braves fire warning shot at Phillies, NL East with new hitting coach hire

The offseason came weeks early for the Philadelphia Phillies which left the club cowering with their tail between their legs. The Los Angeles Dodgers finished off the New York Yankees in the World Series on Wednesday, so that means the start of the offseason is officially here. Teams are left to ponder what went wrong and what could have gone better in aspiring to come out stronger in 2025.

The Phillies certainly have some hard looking to do at their own roster and possibly make significant changes to construct a recurrent World Series threat.

The Phillies announced at their postseason press conference that they are bringing back the entire coaching staff for the 2025 season. Many fans have mixed feelings about the entirety of the staff coming back, but the team believes they are the staff to get it done. Rob Thomson was also given another year on his contract, signing him through the 2026 season.

Braves fire warning shot at Phillies, NL East with new hitting coach hire

With the adapt-or-die mentality, the Atlanta Braves announced the hiring of their new hitting coach Tim Hyers. David O'Brien of The Athletic mentioned Hyers was previously the hitting coach of the Texas Rangers for three seasons in their resurgence in capturing their first-ever World Series championship in 2023.

The mighty Braves were not so mighty in 2024. After tying the MLB record in home runs by a team in a season with 307 in 2023, the team scuffled and hit only 213 in 2024. They did lose Ronald Acuña Jr. in May, along with other stars along the way, but Atlanta felt that change needed to be made. Hyers replaces Kevin Seitzer who was the hitting coach from 2015 to 2024.

Maybe the Phillies could take a lesson from Atlanta this offseason. Yes, the Phillies beat the Braves convincingly for the division, but Atlanta is reloading already and will be ready for another crack at the top of the NL East. It's certainly not a given going into 2025, and who knows how easy it will be to fend off the New York Mets, who stuck it to the Phillies in the NLDS.

Managing partner John Middleton stated that he is willing to increase the payroll (subscription required) if it can add another impact player in 2025, per Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

“Given where we are in contract cycles and minor league people coming up, I expect the player payroll to be higher [than this year] rather than lower,” Middleton said, per Lauber. “I’d be surprised if it’s the same, and I’d be stunned, very stunned, if it’s lower. I don’t see it being lower.”

One key name out there is the perennial MVP candidate, Juan Soto.

The team has decided to retain the coaching staff and believes they can push the players to greatness. Now it's time to gamble with "stupid money" yet again and make 2025 the year the Phillies are deemed as one of the greatest to ever play the game.

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