Phillies' bench coach hire might've just given them an edge for key free agent

The New Year is upon us and while the holidays were quiet for the Philadelphia Phillies, they got 2026 off to a strong start. Monday morning brought fans the news that the Phillies had officially hired their new bench coach, finally!

As first reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post and MLB Network, the Phillies have hired baseball legend Don Mattingly as their bench coach. Based on Heyman's report, it sounds like the Phillies were just waiting for Donnie Baseball's contract with the Toronto Blue Jays to officially run out.

The move had been rumored right from the outset of the offseason. The Phillies were looking for a bench coach with managerial experience, and with Mattingly in the fold, they got that and then some. The father of Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly, he brings decades of MLB experience with him to Philadelphia as manager Rob Thomson's new right-hand man.

Phillies' new bench coach Don Mattingly brings plenty of experience, and a close relationship with free agent Bo Bichette

Bringing in Mattingly, 64, who already has a longstanding relationship with Thomson from their days in the New York Yankees organization, also might give them a leg up in a pursuit of free agent Bo Bichette.

Mattingly is fresh off a run to the World Series with Toronto in 2025. He spent three seasons there as bench coach, and over that time developed a close relationship with star shortstop Bo Bichette, as Heyman points out.

While hiring Mattingly doesn't mean that Bichette will be any more inclined to look at Philly as a destination this offseason, it can't hurt if the Phillies are seriously interested. As Heyman reported on the weekend, Philadelphia is among the big-market teams to have interest in Bichette.

Last month, we learned that Bichette, a career shortstop, would be willing to move to second base, where he briefly played in the World Series thanks to a leg injury. With Trea Turner at short, the Phillies would have to shuffle Bryson Stott out of the picture to make room for Bichette, 27. Or perhaps move Stott to third if an Alec Bohm trade materializes.

Bichette would give the Phillies another dangerous and consistent right-handed bat at the top of the lineup. In seven MLB seasons, he's a career .294 hitter with an .806 OPS. He has a propensity for spoiling a lot of pitches and struck out just 14.5 percent in 2025. The two-time All-Star has led the American League in hits twice and would have likely done so again this past season had it not been for injury.

Don Mattingly gives Phillies' coaching staff a new look for 2026

The front office made a minor shuffle to the coaching staff after flaming out of the NLDS for a second straight year. The lone change saw Mike Calitri, who had held the bench coach role since 2022, move to a role as the team's major league field coordinator for 2026.

Before his coaching days, the six-time All-Star played 14 seasons for the Yankees. After retiring from playing, he was a special instructor during spring training with the Yankees for seven years, up until 2003. He became the Yankees' hitting coach in 2004 before transitioning to bench coach for the 2007 season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers hired Mattingly in 2008, and he held the titles of hitting coach and major league special assignment coach from 2008 to 2010. He became the Dodgers' manager in 2011 and held the role through the 2015 season, finishing with a .551 winning percentage.

Mattingly joined the Miami Marlins in 2016 and managed the NL East club for seven seasons. Under Mattingly, the Marlins made one playoff appearance, in 2020, the same year Mattingly was named the NL Manager of the Year.

He joined the Blue Jays in 2022, and it was a surprise after the season to learn that he had decided to leave Toronto following their magical run to the Fall Classic in October. The Blue Jays' loss is the Phillies' gain, perhaps in more ways than one.