PHILADELPHIA, PA—The Philadelphia Phillies relieved Gabe Kapler of his managerial duties on Thursday, October 11 after only two seasons with the team.

Kapler, 44, was named the Phillies manager in October 2017 and was tasked with improving the teams prior season record of 96 losses. Kapler’s two seasons as manager resulted in a record of 161-163 (.497). The 2019 season ended with a record of 81-81, matching the teams best record since 2012 when they were also at .500. 

The Phillies had a bad season despite their attempt at bringing in the big guns by signing outfielder Bryce Harper, 26, in a 2019 historic deal for $330 million for 13 years. With the star player, the Phillies still finished fourth in the NL East. That is 16 games behind first place and 8 games behind the second wild card spot, which went to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers lost to Harper’s former team, the Washington Nationals in the NL Wild Card game on October 1, 2019. 

Kapler is a former MLB outfielder, where he played from 1998-2010. He had one year remaining in his contract and is the third consecutive manager to be fired after no more than two full seasons on the job. Many others will not be returning as well, as it seems the Phillies are looking to rebuild their team.

Those not returning to their roles in addition to Kapler include pitching coach, Chris Young, head athletic trainer, Scott Sheridan, and assistant athletic trainer, Chris Mudd, according to a press release posted on the teams Twitter accounts.