The Philadelphia Phillies finally fired entrenched hitting coach Kevin Long after a dreadful 2026 campaign. It took less than two weeks to find his replacement in the form of former Boston Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse. It remains to be seen what the 39-year-old will do with an aging Phillies core, but bringing in a fresh, young perspective is a healthy step towards a revitalized offense.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski loves his veterans. The 70-year-old has earned a reputation for shelling out big bucks to keep established stars in town while bringing in big-name free agents to augment the current core. That same approach has largely been applied to the coaching staff in recent years, Long being the most notable hanger-on.
That finally changed on October 14th when it was announced that the Phils were parting ways with Kevin Long (as well as infield coach Bobby Dickerson). Long’s ousting signaled an end to business as usual, and justifiably so, given the club’s dreadful performance at the plate in 2026. Long’s Phillies finished in the bottom third of the league in key offensive statistics, OBP and SLG, and dead last in the catch-all stat OPS+.
It’s hard to place the blame entirely on Long. Hitter coaches can't swing the bat for players, but the Phillies' offensive malaise seemed infectious in 2026. Either way, it was time to move on.
Peter Fatse could be the fresh voice the Phillies desperately need
Fatse is an Alex Cora disciple, appointed Red Sox hitting coach by the free-agent manager Dombrowski has pursued for more than half a calendar year. Dombrowski’s skipper of choice may have spurned him twice now, but that didn’t stop Cora's hitting coach from coming to town.
Fatse was fired by the Sox this past April after a dreadful start to the season, but he quickly caught on with the Tampa Bay Rays, who led the American League with 98 wins and are currently playing in the World Series.
That impressive résumé should give Fatse enough clout to work with Phillies hitters on a new team-wide approach, something they showed flashes of in August, but couldn’t sustain through the rest of the season. It will be interesting to see how established veterans like Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner take to their new coach, who’s only a few years older than they are.
If that group needs any convincing not to let youth be an obstacle, all they’ll need to do is look at Fatse’s pitching coach counterpart, Caleb Cotham. The former big leaguer was hired back in November 2020 when he had just turned 33, and has led one of the franchise’s most successful pitching eras.
Hurlers Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, and Ranger Suárez, among others, have blossomed into stars under Cotham’s tutelage. With any luck, Peter Fatse can have the same effect on some of the Phillies’ up-and-coming sluggers.
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