Phillies keep Don Mattingly as manager with a two-year deal

Don Mattingly is staying in Philadelphia.

The Phillies announced Wednesday that Mattingly signed a two-year deal to remain manager. The 65-year-old took over as interim manager in April after Rob Thomson was fired just 28 games into the season.

A turnaround season

Mattingly went 79-55 and Philadelphia clinched a National League wild-card spot with a win in its final regular-season game. The Phillies pushed the Atlanta Braves to a deciding Game 3 in the wild-card series before losing 6-2.

Mattingly had joined the Phillies as bench coach. His son Preston Mattingly is the team's general manager. Reports say president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was turned down twice by former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora before sticking with Mattingly. Dombrowski and Mattingly will speak to reporters Thursday.

A long résumé

Mattingly managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011 to 2015 and the Miami Marlins from 2016 to 2022. He was NL Manager of the Year in 2020 and owns a career managerial record of 968-1,005 with five playoff trips. He was bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025 when they lost Game 7 of the World Series to the Dodgers.

As a player he spent 14 seasons with the New York Yankees. He won the 1985 AL MVP award and made six All-Star teams.

Offseason questions

The rotation is led by Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo. The lineup built around Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner is getting older. Alec Bohm, Luis Arraez and José Alvarado are headed for free agency.