The Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a multi-year contract extension with third base coach Dusty Wathan, reports Robert Murray of Fansided.com (via Twitter). Wathan, age 49, has served as Philadelphia’s third base coach since he was named to Gabe Kapler‘s staff in November of 2017.
Wathan is a former professional catcher who played a total of three games for the Royals in his only big league season in 2002. On his way to the Majors, he logged over 3000 minor league at-bats. After retiring as a player in 2007, he began his coaching career in 2008, when he was named manager of the Williamsport Crosscutters, the Phillies’ former Class-A (Short Season) team. Wathan continued on to spend years as the manager of the Clearwater Threshers (Phillies’ Class-A Advanced, the Double-A Reading Fightin’ Phils, and the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs before being promoted to the Phillies’ coaching staff.
Wathan’s extension takes him out of the running for the various current big league managerial openings. NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that Wathan met with the Marlins before they hired him Skip Schumaker and interviewed with the Royals as recently as October 20. He had also been a finalist for the Phillies’ job in the 2017-2018 offseason before Philadelphia hired Kapler.
News of Wathan’s extension comes on the eve of Philadelphia’s first World Series appearance since 2009. With an extension that is reportedly for multiple years, it appears that Wathan will remain with the Phillies long beyond the fall classic.
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