The Philadelphia Phillies will part ways with manager Don Mattingly, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported this morning, after the Phillies lost Game 3 of their Wild Card series 6-2 last night to the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
It was a rather disappointing end to a Phillies season in which the team went 88-74 and just sneaked into the playoffs on the final game of the season (162) against the Tampa Bay Rays. Before clinching a playoff spot last week, the Phillies suffered a four-game losing streak, during which Arizona built momentum for that final wild-card spot but they missed the playoffs.
But ultimately, while the Phillies grabbed the final wild-card spot and Arizona didn’t, the season ends after three games for Philadelphia, and they will now look for a new manager. The Phillies tied the series after Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hit back-to-back home runs, and a big Alec Bohm double propelled them to a 4-3 win.
Aaron Nola Struggles In Game 3
However, Aaron Nola got the ball in game three. Nola gave up a three-run home run in the first to Braves center fielder Michael Harris, and that basically sealed the Phillies’ ultimate fate. Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson also hit home runs to lead the Braves to victory. The Phillies offense managed to score just two runs on an Alec Bohm RBI groundout and a Trea Turner sac fly.
The Phillies now head into the 2026-27 offseason with the biggest question: who will be next year’s manager? With a looming lockout after this season, the baseball season and what it will look like in 2027 also remain unknown at this time. As for the Phillies’ search for a new manager, one name that has appeared in rumors since before Mattingly was named manager is former Red Sox manager Alex Cora, whom the Red Sox dismissed in late April this past year.
Don Mattingly’s son, Preston Mattingly, is the team’s Vice President and General Manager. Dave Dombrowski is the President of Baseball Operations. Dombrowski told the media on April 28th that he discussed Cora possibly becoming the next Phillies manager. Dombrowski stated, “We talked about potentially taking the job.” However, further discussion led Cora to say he wanted to “spend time with family rather than jump back into the dugout,” Dombrowski said.
Don Mattingly’s Next Chapter
As for Mattingly, he had an impressive career in baseball, playing for the Yankees from 1982-1995, where he won MVP in 1985 and was a six-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove Award winner, with a lifetime batting average of .307 and 2,153 career hits. Mattingly was arguably the best player in baseball at one point, which led to a coaching career that included managing the Dodgers, Marlins, and Phillies, and appearing in the 2024 World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays as a bench coach.
It’s unclear whether this marks the end of Donnie Baseball as an MLB coach, and where the Phillies pivot from here remains to be seen, as does the trajectory of the 2027 season. Is Alex Cora now a potential managerial candidate for the Phillies in 2027, or is it someone else? Only time will tell.
Phillies Making Big Don Mattingly Decision After Wild Card Loss