The Philadelphia Phillies are removing the interim tag from manager Don Mattingly’s role, inking the veteran bench boss to a 2 year deal on Wednesday.
Mattingly was hired last season as the club’s bench coach, but was elevated to the manager role just 28 games into the season after Rob Thomson was fired in April. The 65 year old guided the team to a 79-55 record after taking over managerial duties, helping Philadelphia to reach the postseason for a 5th consecutive year.
Following his 14 year MLB career, Mattingly has had stints with the Blue Jays, Dodgers, and Marlins, winning the 2020 NL Manager of the year award with Miami. Sporting a lifetime 968-1,005 career record as a manager, the former Yankees captain was one of the most experienced managerial options on the market this offseason, but will now be tied to Philadelphia through 2028.
The deal also ends speculation that former Red Sox manager Alex Cora could step into the role following his dismissal from Boston earlier this year as well. While there was reported interest from the Phillies front office, Cora is believed to be leaning towards taking next season off to spend time with his family.
Mattingly was likely to remain with Philadelphia in some fashion for the 2027 MLB campaign as he was still under contract as a bench coach for the upcoming season. That contract will now be torn up and replaced by the new two year deal as the franchise looks for some stability in the dugout ahead of a season which could feature some significant roster changes for the club.
Photo: Arturo Pardavila III. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.