Philadelphia, PA - The Phillies have invited six alumni to participate in spring training as guest instructors, the club announced today. Manager Gabe Kapler and his coaching staff will intermittently be assisted by Bobby Abreu, Larry Bowa, Brad Lidge, Charlie Manuel, Dan Plesac and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.
Bowa and Manuel both work on the Phillies' baseball operations staff as senior advisors to General Manager Matt Klentak, while Schmidt has been a member of the broadcast team for the past four seasons. All three are enshrined on the Phillies Wall of Fame.
This will be Lidge's third spring as a guest instructor, as he previously made appearances in 2014 and 2017. For Plesac, the 2018 spring will mark his second as an instructor with the franchise (2015).
Abreu will make his coaching debut with the team. It will be his first time in a Phillies uniform since 2014 when he was a non-roster invitee. Abreu played nine years (1998-2006) with the Phillies and batted .303 with 348 doubles, 195 home runs, 814 RBI, 254 stolen bases and a .928 OPS. He ranks in the franchise's all-time top 10 in batting average, on-base percentage (.416), slugging percentage (.513), runs (891), RBI, doubles, extra-base hits (585), total bases (2,491), walks (947) and stolen bases.
The remaining members of the spring training instructional staff are the major league coaching staff of Jose David Flores (first base/infield), Jim Gott (bullpen), Pedro Guerrero (assistant hitting), Rick Kranitz (pitching), John Mallee (hitting), Rob Thomson (bench), Dusty Wathan (third base), Chris Young (assistant pitching), Craig Driver (bullpen catcher/receiving) and Bob Stumpo (bullpen catcher/catching); the triple-A staff of Gary Jones (manager), Sal Rende (hitting coach), Wes Helms (coach) and Dave Lundquist (pitching coach); double-A manager Greg Legg; minor league coordinators Andy Abad (outfield), Carlos Arroyo (roving pitching), Rafael Chaves (pitching), Rob Ducey (bunting/baserunning), Doug Mansolino (field), Andy Tracy (hitting), Chris Truby (infield), Ben Werthan (information) and Ernie Whitt (catching); and baseball operations staff members Sam Fuld and Jorge Velandia.
The first workout for pitchers and catchers at the Phillies' spring training complex in Clearwater, Fla., is scheduled for February 14 with full-squad workouts slated to begin on February 19.