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While the Phillies haven’t been shy in attempting to pluck talent from the Washington Nationals in recent years, quite a few former Philadelphia employees have landed jobs with the division rivals this offseason.
The latest is former infielder Wilson Valdéz, who the Nationals announced as the infield coach for their Dominican Summer League team Tuesday.
Valdéz — a native of the Dominican Republic — spent parts of two seasons with the Phillies in 2010 and 2011 as a utility infielder. He even filled in at third base for an injured Plácido Polanco in Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS, which turned out to be Roy Halladay’s playoff no-hitter.
However, Valdéz’s most memorable moment as a Phillie probably came on May 25, 2011.
Coincidentally, this game also came against the Cincinnati Reds, just like Halladay’s no-hitter. Halladay even started this game, allowing three runs over seven innings.
But by the 19th inning, Charlie Manuel was out of pitchers and turned to Valdéz, who pitched a scoreless inning, despite facing Joey Votto, Scott Rolen, Jay Bruce and Carlos Fisher.
Valdéz ultimately earned the win when Raúl Ibañez drove in Jimmy Rollins to win the game in the home half of the 19th inning.
Former Phillies hitting coach Joe Dillon has also returned to the Nationals organization, as he’ll now be serving as the minor league hitting coordinator. Prior to a nearly two-year stint as the Phillies hitting coach, Dillon had been the assistant hitting coach for Washington in 2018 and 2019.
Additionally, long-time Phillies second baseman César Hernández inked a one-year deal with the Nationals back in November.
