After the Phillies were once again spurned by Alex Cora, the club was able to keep its management decision in-house. Matt Gelb and Jayson Stark of The Athletic report that interim manager Don Mattingly could keep the job next season.
Mattingly has made a major turnaround in Philadelphia after a slow start to the year. The team was 9-19 in the first month of the season and fired manager Rob Thomson in late April. Mattingly, who had been hired as bench coach, assumed the captaincy. The Phillies were 24 games above .500 after Mattingly took over.
(Related: Alex Cora informs Phillies he doesn’t plan to manage in 2027)
Philadelphia did not retire Mattingly’s interim title at any time during the year. A heartbreaking final week of the season, as well as a quick exit from the playoffs, tarnished his work at the helm. The Phillies nearly coughed up a playoff spot with four straight losses in late September. They avoided collapse by winning on the last day of the season. Mattingly had to use Ace Zack Wheeler in a must-win spot, leaving the rotation depleted in the Wild Card round. Atlanta eliminated them in three games.
Mattingly will be a part of the organization in one way or another next season. He is signed through 2027. Gelb and Stark note that Mattingly could take on an advisory role in the front office if he is not named manager. His son, Preston, is the general manager of Philadelphia. Returning Mattingly to a bench coaching position and bringing in a new manager could create an awkward dynamic in the dugout.
Philadelphia enters the offseason with plenty of question marks. Sorting through vacant leadership positions is at the top of the list, but there are other considerations to make. An aging and expensive team has just finished 19th in the standings. The reliable enclosure options behind the rapprochement Jhoan Duran decreased at the end of the year. This should be an interesting winter for the Phillies.
Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images
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