Don Mattingly Not Expected to Return as Phillies Manager After Playoff Exit

Oct 02, 2026 at 10:56 AM EDT

The Philadelphia Phillies will reportedly seek a clubhouse change after their MLB Wild Card Series elimination.

Following Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves, USA Today's Bob Nightengale said manager Don Mattingly will be "gracefully dismissed" soon. Nightengale added that the Phillies will present the move as a "mutual parting" and offer Mattingly a front-office job working with his son, general manager Preston Mattingly.

The Phillies named Don Mattingly interim manager on April 28 after firing Rob Thomson. They were 9-19 at the time but earned their fifth straight playoff appearance after going 79-55 behind the former New York Yankees first baseman.

That in-season turnaround still may not be enough for Mattingly to remain Philadelphia's skipper in 2027. After snapping a four-game losing streak to salvage a wild-card spot on the last day of the regular season, the Phillies lost a three-game series to the Atlanta Braves in the opening round.

"I want the Phillies to do what they need to do to set themselves up for success," Mattingly said after Thursday's elimination loss. "My stuff doesn’t really matter."

Nightengale wrote that the Phillies "want new blood, new energy, a new voice." They could return to a candidate that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski openly pursued earlier this year.

Dombrowski offered Alex Cora the manager job shortly after the Boston Red Sox fired him in April. Cora, who won a World Series with Dombrowski in 2018, remains available and still "checks all the boxes" for the Phillies, per Nightengale.

Mattingly, who began the season as a Phillies bench coach, would like to stay involved in baseball.

"I love the game," Mattingly said. "I'm comfortable with whatever they want to do. Again, I want the best for the Phillies. I loved being in Philly this year. I actually like playing in that environment. It’s a rough environment, but it's good.

“Again, I think you let the organization evaluate, talk about what they think moving forward, what they should do, and that dictates a lot of different things."