When the Phillies dismissed hitting coach John Mallee, the Phillies ownership was behind the move, not the front office. Might the same thing have happened to him before? Mallee, who was hitting coach for the 2016 World Champion Chicago Cubs under Joe Maddon, will reunite with his old skipper in Los Angeles.
Bruce Levine of 670 The Score first noted that the Angels were interested in Mallee:
Angels hoping to add former Cub hitting coach John Mallee .
— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) October 26, 2019
Angels reporter Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was able to confirm Mallee's addition.
Joining him will also be former New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway, reported Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Callaway was pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians club who faced the Cubs in the 2016 World Series. Callaway pitched for the Angels in the early 2000s while Maddon was the club's bench coach.
So Mallee is now gainfully employed, and the Phillies will be looking elsewhere for a pitching coach. It is unclear if the Phillies were interested in Callaway, but he was regularly speculated to be in consideration for the Phillies. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia suggested either Dave Eiland, who was Callway's pitching coach in New York, and current New York Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild, should the Yankees make a change.
