The Phillies will retain Don Mattingly as manager, NBC Sports Philadelphia has confirmed.
The move will remove the interim label from the 65-year-old. An official announcement will come this week, though the Phillies have not disclosed any contractual details.
Mattingly helped rescue a season that began disastrously, going 79-55 after moving from bench coach to replace Rob Thomson in late April.
For the second time this year, the Phillies’ path back to Mattingly came after they explored hiring Alex Cora.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski pursued Cora before firing Thomson in April, but the former Red Sox manager declined the opportunity and chose to spend the remainder of the season with his family. Dombrowski then turned to Mattingly, who had joined the Phillies over the winter as Thomson’s bench coach.
Dombrowski circled back to Cora after the season, but Cora again passed on the Phillies and reportedly plans to sit out 2027.
That brought Philadelphia back to a familiar option, and one who had already shown he could steady the club.
Mattingly inherited a team that was 9-19 and had lost 10 consecutive games. Under him, the Phillies played .590 baseball, a pace that would have produced approximately 96 wins over a full 162-game schedule. Owner John Middleton pointed to that turnaround late in the season when discussing Mattingly’s performance.
The ending was far less impressive.
Philadelphia struggled throughout September, needed the final day of the regular season to secure the National League’s last Wild Card berth and was eliminated by Atlanta in three games. The Phillies have now gone three straight postseasons without winning a series.
Still, Mattingly received strong support inside the clubhouse after the season. J.T. Realmuto publicly backed his return, while Kyle Schwarber praised the even-keel approach Mattingly brought during a turbulent season and Trea Turner spoke highly of his honesty and communication.
Mattingly had also made it clear months earlier that he was open to staying in the job.
“I like doing it,” Mattingly told Buster Olney of ESPN in July. “I didn’t come here to do it, but I actually like doing it.”
Mattingly noted at the time that he had originally committed to two years with Philadelphia when he accepted the bench coach position.
“So if that’s something that Dave wanted me to do then I’m fine with it,” he said.
After the Phillies were eliminated, however, Mattingly declined to lobby for the position.
“I’m comfortable with whatever they want to do,” he said. “Again, I want the best for the Phillies. I loved being in Philly this year.”
Retaining him also gives the Phillies continuity heading into an unusual 2027 season. Labor uncertainty hangs over the year with Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire this winter, making familiarity a reasonable route for a veteran team still trying to squeeze another postseason run out of its current core.
The move could also preserve flexibility beyond next season.
USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale has reported that Dombrowski is expected to receive a contract extension, while Cora’s decision to sit out 2027 does not necessarily remove him from the Phillies’ long-term radar. Dombrowski and Cora won a World Series together in Boston in 2018, and the Phillies have now pursued him twice.
For now, the Phillies are sticking with the manager who helped turn around their 2026 season.
Mattingly took over 28 games into the year. This time, he will be there from the beginning.