Don Mattingly Might End Up Snubbing the Phillies in Wild Twist

The Philadelphia Phillies are facing uncertainty at manager heading into next season, as Alex Cora just rebuffed their advances for the second time in six months.

So could the Phillies actually try and retain Don Mattingly?

The general consensus was that Mattingly, who took over as Philadelphia's interim manager back in late April, would be out unless he guided the Phillies on a run to the World Series.

And considering Philadelphia did ask Cora to manage the team yet again, it appears that Dave Dombrowski had every intention of dumping Mattingly.

But now, there are rumblings that the Phillies might be willing to give Donnie Baseball another shot.

Mattingly went 79-55 during his time as skipper during the 2026 regular season and guided Philadelphia to the playoffs in spite of the club's 9-19 start under Rob Thomson, so he absolutely deserves some consideration.

The problem is that Mattingly does not exactly have the strongest managerial reputation from his days with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins, so the Phils initially thought they could do better. Hence Cora.

It's hard to argue with the job he did this year, though, and the players seem to love him.

But does Mattingly even want to come back?

Former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. isn't so sure, stating on The Phillies Show that Mattingly may not be so amenable to returning if Philadelphia decides to largely run it back with the same team that just got bounced from the Wild Card Series.

The Phillies have made the playoffs five years in a row, but after making the World Series in 2022, the team has regressed quite a bit. They were eliminated from the NLCS in 2023 and lost in the Division Series two years in a row before an even earlier exit this fall.

It's true: why would Mattingly want to re-assume the reins as manager if Dombrowski isn't going to do the work to improve the roster this winter?

Philadelphia has significant holes on its roster. It is in desperate need of offense, and its bullpen needs a major overhaul. The starting rotation is terrific, but the Phils have proven that you can't win on starting pitching alone.

If Mattingly knows he is going to inherit virtually the same roster in 2027, it might actually be wise for him to pass, especially considering just how terrible the Phillies were in September.