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Report: Phillies hire Machado's mentor Dickerson to coaching staff

Hannah Foslien / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Philadelphia Phillies certainly appear to be pulling out all the stops in their attempts to sign Manny Machado.

One of the front-runners to land Machado in free agency, the Phillies have hired former Baltimore Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson as their new infield coach, according to MASN's Roch Kubatko.

Dickerson served as a mentor to Machado while the latter was a prospect in Baltimore's system and the two have remained close throughout Machado's career.

The 53-year-old taught Machado - a natural shortstop - how to play third base shortly before the Orioles called him to the big leagues in 2012, Dan Connolly of The Athletic reported in October.

Dickerson will not only be a member of manager Gabe Kapler's big-league coaching staff but will also be in uniform and in the dugout during games, Kubatko reports.

He had been a member of the Orioles' coaching staff since 2010 but was not retained after the team fired longtime manager Buck Showalter in October.

Machado is reportedly deciding between the Phillies, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees and is expected to sign his next contract soon. The Phillies' pursuit of him is said to be "heating up."

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