MLB insider affirms what Phillies fans likely already knew about Don Mattingly hire

For the 13th season of his life -- and the first since he stepped away from the Miami Marlins in 2022 -- Don Mattingly is back on the pine as the skipper of a MLB team.

The Philadelphia Phillies knew that things had run their course with Rob Thomson. The 2022 franchise savior couldn't get a veteran-laden team out of the mud over the first month of this campaign, so the team is turning to a more experienced voice to try and salvage this sinking ship.

Here's the thing, though: Mattingly isn't coaching for his job. This is, for all intents and purposes, a temporary gig, one that will almost certainly expire once the 2026 season comes to an end.

That should hardly come as a shock to any Phillies fans that have paid close attention to the team since Mattingly was hired back in January. The 65-year-old admitted during spring training that he never envisioned himself managing again.

It's not often that you'll see an intermin manager with the "lame duck" tag, but here were are. Welcome to Philadelphia Phillies baseball in 2026.

Phillies playing with house money under veteran manager Don Mattingly

It's an indictment on this organization as a whole that we've entered house-money territory before the end of April, but with Thomson already out of the picture, that's the truth of the matter. Unlike in 2022, there's no job to play for; regardless of how well the Phillies do under Mattingly's watch, odds are the longtime coach and 1985 AL MVP won't stick around after this season (at least as manager).

Considering that the Mattingly wasn't even the front office's first choice to serve as the interim manager -- Alex Cora was offered the job but turned it down to spend time with family -- it's safe to say that neither side views this as a long-term partnership. Hence, the rest of this year is now about evaluating the players on the roster, with wholesale changes to hit the coaching staff next offseason.

Of course, we shouldn't entirely rule out the possibility that the Phillies respond well to an in-season manager change for the second time in five years. Thomson took over a team that was seven games below .500 and shepherded them to the World Series; can Mattingly do the same with a 9-19 club?

If the answer to that question is miraculously a "yes," then perhaps the Phillies and Mattingly will considering giving this reverse-nepotism thing a longer leash (his son, Preston Mattingly, is the general manager). For what it's worth, things are off to a better start in the post-Thomson world, with a 7-0 shutout of the San Francisco Giants marking the first win of the Mattingly era in Philadelphia.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow