The Phillies will wait until the season is over before deciding whether Don Mattingly stays on as manager beyond 2026.
That was the message from president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who said the club prefers to put off any call on Mattingly’s future until the year is finished. Asked about the manager role beyond 2026, Dombrowski told Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer, “[We] have felt it is better to wait until our season is complete,” and added “there has not been” any additional discussion about Mattingly’s future after the Mets and Red Sox removed their interim tags from Andy Green and Chad Tracy, respectively, and gave both three-year contracts.
The timing is not a shock. Philadelphia made clear in April that Mattingly was only guaranteed the job through the end of the season. He originally came aboard on a two-year deal signed over the winter to work as Rob Thomson’s bench coach, then moved into the top job after Thomson was fired when the Phillies stumbled to a 9-19 start.
Since taking over, Mattingly has helped steady things in a big way. The Phillies are 78-51 under him and sit at 87-70 overall.
They’re currently the No. 6 seed in the National League, though they could still land any of the Wild Card spots. Philadelphia is 4.5 games ahead of the Diamondbacks and has a magic number of two to lock up its fifth straight playoff berth.
The regular season has been good enough to keep the Phillies in the mix, but the real measuring stick is October. This is a team built to win now, with a competitive balance tax payroll north of $322MM and one of the oldest rosters in the sport.
That makes the postseason results even more important. Philadelphia has been one of baseball’s most consistent regular season clubs for five straight years, but the October track record has gone the other direction.
The Phillies reached the National League pennant in 2022, fell in the NLCS in 2023 and then lost in the Division Series in each of the last two seasons. This year, they’ll have to get through a three-game Wild Card Series.
The front office is not going to make a permanent managerial decision based only on a three- or five-game sample, but a strong playoff run would clearly help Mattingly’s case.
Alex Cora remains part of the conversation as well. Dombrowski has already said he was prepared to offer Cora the job after the longtime Red Sox manager was dismissed.
Cora, whose reported Boston contract pays $7.25MM annually through 2027, turned it down so he could spend the 2026 season with his family. The Phillies are expected to check in with him again this offseason about a possible return to the dugout.
For his part, Mattingly said around the All-Star break that he’d be willing to keep the job in 2027 if Dombrowski wants him back.
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