The Philadelphia Phillies started the 2026 regular season 9-19 and in the basement of MLB. Rob Thomson was subsequently fired as the Phillies manager, pushing bench coach Don Mattingly to lead as the club's interim manager for the remainder of the season.
It's been a different story since the change was made, one that wouldn't have been possible if the Toronto Blue Jays were able to retain him last offseason.
Mattingly served as the bench coach for the Blue Jays during their 2025 run to the World Series. He remained a veteran presence in their dugout, but a contract expiration paired with a change in desire led to him seeking other opportunities.
Don Mattingly's expiring Blue Jays contract gifted Phillies a life raft
Mattingly was the bench coach for the Blue Jays for three seasons before choosing Philadelphia as his next destination, one that has his son Preston as the current general manager. Toronto could have been an easy place for Mattingly to stick around, but he felt his time was up, per Dylan Svoboda of Yahoo Sports.
“If I talk about it right now, I’m like, ‘the last thing I wanna do is be on the road,’” he said, per Svoboda. “But you never know how you feel in a month from now or whatever. So kind of those are the things I wrestle with. This is really that balancing act of family and still being a part of the game, which, I still like what I’m doing.”
Mattingly still resides in Evansville, Indiana, his hometown. Philadelphia was the right fit for both sides for the initial bench coach role. Mattingly took over as the interim manager on April 28, and the club has responded exceptionally with a 15-4 record under him. Entering Monday, the Phillies have a 24-23 record, good for second in the NL East, and their first taste of a record over .500 since April 7.
Who knows where the Phillies would be if the Blue Jays were able to keep Mattingly on their staff? Maybe they linger around a playoff spot, but it's not a given that they would be able to replicate the switch that's flipped since Thomson's departure. In the 19 games under Mattingly, the Phillies rank fifth in BA (.259) and third in SLG (.440). As a pitching staff, they rank first in fWAR (4.6), fourth in ERA (2.91), and second in FIP (2.91).
The Phillies have found a groove, something that seemed impossible just a few weeks ago. Thomson was the right fit until he wasn't, giving Mattingly his shot to run the club. The Phillies look like their old selves again with a brighter season ahead, and if the team makes a deep run, Mattingly's divorce from the Blue Jays will be a much bigger story.
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