By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
We have been told that the Philadelphia Phillies have finalized their 2019 coaching staff, however the club reportedly is considering one more addition that would be the first of its kind in Major League Baseball.
The Phillies and the Minnesota Twins are among the teams interested in hiring Driveline Baseball's Lead Hitting Instructor Jason Ochart, according to Baseball America's J.J. Cooper.
Update, Dec. 21: The Phillies have hired Ochart, the latest example of a "financial and technological arms race in Major League Baseball that has spread to player development," according to The Athletic's Matt Gelb.
I’m beyond excited about this new opportunity! It’s always been a dream of mine. Thanks to all who have helped along the way. #Phillies https://t.co/ViSTJrpWlx
— Jason Ochart (@JasonOchart) December 22, 2018
Gelb writes:
The Phillies will surround Ochart with hitting instructors who have pro experience. They have hired Russ Steinhorn, who worked last year at Clemson University and with the Astros before that, to be an assistant hitting coordinator. They hired Rob Segedin, a 30-year-old former big-league outfielder, as a minor-league hitting coach. They have hired Ed Lucas, a 36-year-old former big leaguer, as a player development information assistant. There are more hires and more technological investments to come. It’s all designed to improve the success rate in developing position players, an area where the Phillies can do better.
… The Phillies reached an arrangement with Ochart that will permit him to still spend some offseason time at Driveline, located in suburban Seattle.
Ochart had reportedly turned down "multiple offers" to leave Driveline to be a hitting coordinator, but it now appears that he "will likely end up doing both," per Cooper.
Cooper writes:
Ochart was coaching at Menlo (Calif.) in 2016 when Driveline hired him to be its Director of Hitting. In the two years since, Ochart has developed a program at Driveline that uses modern technology to measure the gains (or setbacks) that come from every tweak and training program their instructors use. In addition to working on shaping a hitters' swing to his strengths, the Driveline program also uses overloading and underloading to help improve and then maintain bat speed while keeping swings mechanically clean.
In his Sept. 2016 blog post, Ochart listed two goals of Driveline hitting as creating "a data-driven program for developing hitters," and conducting research to "help better understand hitting." He then further outlined his personal history that led him to the Seattle-based company:
As a kinesiology student, I studied human movement. As I learned basic movement principles (in particular the fundamentals of biomechanics, motor learning and overall skill development) I came to a harsh realization. My understanding of the baseball swing was extremely inaccurate.
As a high school and college player, I fell victim to blindly accepting conventional wisdom regarding the swing (We will discuss some of these myths in later blogs). This angering realization has become more and more common amongst players, due to the advancements in technology and accessibility to video (YouTube launched my sophomore year of high school).
I spent my life trying to squish the bug, swing down, and stay closed (the list goes on) only to see slow motion video and realize that big leaguers aren’t doing any of that.
So, I decided to disregard all preconceived ideas regarding the swing and began to learn from video, research articles, and some of the great minds who are ahead of the curve. That approach sprung me into a successful stint as a college hitting coach and it eventually led me to Driveline.
John Mallee will return as hitting coach for his second season in red pinstripes. Through Ochart, the club is looking to take analytics even further in the second season under Gabe Kapler.
