Phillies Name Don Mattingly New Manager

• October 15, 2026

The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Thursday that Don Mattingly has been named their new manager, signing a two-year contract. The decision comes after Mattingly served as interim manager following the dismissal of former skipper Rob Thomson on April 28. The Phillies had interest in hiring former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora. But, he turned down the offer as he does not intend to manage in 2027.

Don Mattingley Leads Phillies

After a challenging start to the regular season in which they went 10–19 through their first 29 games, the Phillies parted ways with Thompson. They appointed Mattingly to be the interim manager, who brings a degree of experience. From the start of his tenure, the veteran skipper led his team on multiple winning streaks. At that point, the Phillies were back up to .500 and had a 54–43 record at the end of the first half of the regular season.

Despite the early success, Don Mattingly and the Phillies lost 10 of their first 13 games in the second half of the year. They bounced back in August, going on separate winning streaks. From there, the Phillies claimed the final NL Wild Card spot with an 88–74 record. However, their season ended on October 1 when they fell to the Atlanta Braves 6–2 in Game Three of the NL Wild Card series.

Staff Changes

With Don Mattingly remaining at the helm, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski announced the hiring of Carlos Mendoza. He will serve as a third-base and infield coach. Mendoza was the division rival New York Mets manager from 2024-26. He was fired in June due to an underwhelming first half of the season in which the Mets went 34–47. His job security was also in jeopardy after the Mets missed the postseason by a game in 2025.

The Phillies are also expected to part ways with hitting coach Kevin Long and infield coach Bobby Dickerson as a part of a larger overhaul of their coaching staff. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia was first to report on this development.

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