The Philadelphia Phillies made their decision on Wednesday to retain interim manager Don Mattingly.
However, Philadelphia left no stone unturned when it came to finding their next manager.
Evidently, two familiar faces were considered alongside Mattingly. According to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, the Phillies reached out to two former players: Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez to see what level of interest they had in the position.
However, Mattingly was ultimately retained after bringing the Phillies from a 9-19 start under Rob Thomson to an 88-74 record with a playoff appearance. While the Phillies lost embarrassingly to the Atlanta Braves, it was a great turnaround by Mattingly.
Why Would the Philadelphia Phillies Hire Utley?
Before the Phillies made their decision to rehire Mattingly, they contacted Utley and Ibanez.
“Before the Philadelphia Phillies finalized their decision to rehire Don Mattingly as their manager, they reached out to Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez, two high-profile names from their recent past, to gauge their interest in the job, according to two team sources with firsthand knowledge of those discussions,” Stark wrote. “Both politely declined, those sources said.”
Both former players currently work for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. However, the interest was serious enough that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski requested permission from the Dodgers to speak to Utley and Ibanez.
Utley was a six-time All-Star with Philadelphia, winning a World Series in 2008 and accumulating 64.6 bWAR in his career. After spending 13 seasons with Philadelphia, the organization traded him to the Dodgers for minor leaguers.
He would spend four seasons with the Dodgers before retiring. Now, he is a special assistant to Andrew Friedman, Los Angeles’ president of baseball operations.
“Regardless of whether that (Phillies report) is true or not … considering where I’m currently at with my family, that commitment (to a job like managing) is not really realistic at the moment,” Utley said. “I’m completely happy with how things are going currently. So that is something that I’m really not wanting to add to. I imagine everyone would totally understand that.”
What About Ibanez?
Ibanez recently completed his third year with the Dodgers as their vice president of baseball development and special projects. He has turned down multiple managerial offers in recent years, but did take a few days to consider the offer from the Phillies before ultimately deciding to decline.
While he wasn’t necessarily a franchise legend like Utley, Ibanez was a fan favorite in Philadelphia.
He played three of his 19 major league seasons with the Phillies, including an All-Star appearance in 2009, the only one of his career.
Since retiring, Ibanez has spent time in the Dodgers’ front office, as well as being a broadcaster on ESPN. He has also worked for the commissioner’s office.
One thing is clear: due to the turnaround Mattingly had, it was the right decision to retain him. Time will tell if the Phillies can make some notable noise in the postseason in the future.
Phillies Had Interest in Hiring 2 Former Players Amid Don Mattingly Decision