Phillies would be better off sticking with Gabe Kapler instead of hoping for Joe Maddon

Despite the temptation for the Philadelphia Phillies to pursue Joe Maddon if he becomes available, the team seems better off with Gabe Kapler for the long run.

Since the 2019 season appears to have been a complete bust for the Philadelphia Phillies with playoffs currently being an absolute long shot, Gabe Kapler‘s job status is about to become a major popular topic of discussion, especially if Joe Maddon becomes available.

After being declared one of the big winners from the offseason highlighted by the signing of Bryce Harper, the Phillies were rightfully considered one of the early favorites to make a World Series run.

But since Philadelphia seems to be on the verge of missing out on one of the Wild Card spots in the National League since the Atlanta Braves already clinched the division, many will question whether Kapler is the right man for the job.

From questionable decisions at pitching to struggling to find a consistent batting lineup that works, it’s been a rough second season at times for Kapler.

And while plenty of Phillies fans would prefer to see the team replace Kapler with Maddon if the opportunity were to present itself, this may not be the best option for Philadelphia in the long run.

With all due respect to Maddon since what he’s accomplished over the years with the Chicago Cubs has been truly incredible to witness, being 65 means he may only have a couple of seasons left in him.

Since Kapler will only turn 45 in July, it may benefit the Phillies to keep Kapler around beyond the 2019 season since the last two years could be used as a learning experience to help the team improve heading into 2020.

Rightfully so, Phillies fans have every reason in the world to feel frustrated over how things are playing out this year since the talent was certainly there to make a deep run at the World Series, and this season now looks like a complete waste.

Whether Kapler deserves the most blame or not for how things turned out in 2019, it will be interesting to see what the organization decides to do once the offseason hits since a case can be made for both sides of the argument.

And while the temptation to go after Maddon will certainly be there if the Cubs do end up firing him as manager in the next couple of weeks, the Phillies still seem like they would be better off by sticking with Kapler.