Jesse Biddle needs Tommy John surgery

Jesse Biddle, the Phillies' former first-round draft pick from Germantown Friends School, will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow, interim general manager Scott Proefrock said Sunday.

Team physician Michael Ciccotti will perform the operation on Oct. 14 in Philadelphia. The typical recovery time for Tommy John surgery is 12 to 18 months.

Biddle recently went for a second opinion, which confirmed Ciccotti's diagnosis. The 23-year-old lefthander finished his season with triple-A Lehigh Valley on the disabled list with a shoulder strain.

News of reconstructive surgery is a tough blow for Biddle, drafted 27th overall in 2010 but still yet to reach the major leagues. He reached triple A only this past July and struggled, compiling a 6.25 ERA in nine starts with Lehigh Valley. This was his sixth minor-league season.

When Pete Mackanin begins his first full season as the Phillies' manager next spring, he will not do so with an entirely new staff around him.

Bench coach Larry Bowa, pitching coach Bob McClure, hitting coach Steve Henderson and first-base coach Juan Samuel were asked by the Phillies to return for next season, the team announced.

Assistant hitting coach John Mizerock and bullpen coach Rod Nichols were the only coaches let go. Mizerock had coached third base since Mackanin replaced Ryne Sandberg, who resigned on June 26. It is possible that Samuel, if he opts to return, could move across the diamond to coach third, a post he has manned in the past.

"We feel like we need a change and we're going to look at the mix of the coaches and zero in on whoever we feel we can help [the team]," Mackanin said. "We're going to look at the pool of available people. We have some thoughts in mind, but during the course of the next week or two we'll be making a decision on the rest of the coaches."

Jorge Velandia, who came down from the front office to assume a utility-coach role when Mackanin took over, will remain in the organization. It has yet to be determined, however, if he will return to the coaching staff or to the player personnel department.

Bullpen catchers Jesus Tiamo and Bob Stumpo were asked to return.

The Phillies' attendance of 1,831,080 this season was their lowest since 2002, the team's penultimate year at Veterans Stadium. A half-million fewer fans came to Citizens Bank Park for the third consecutive season. . . . Odubel Herrera became the first Phillies rookie with 30 doubles in a season since Scott Rolen in 1997. . . . Maikel Franco said he plans to play about a month of winter ball with Gigantes del Cibao, his team in his native Dominican Republic. He will likely play beginning in November and ending in December.