Don Mattingly isn’t the long-term solution for the Phillies

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
Don Mattingly isn’t the long-term solution for the Phillies
Credit: CBS News

This morning, the Phillies decided to fire Rob Thomson.

Let's not beat around the bush: the fact that Alex Cora—who is adored by Dave Dombrowski—lost his job with the Red Sox really changed the game.

A change was expected by the Phillies. But when Cora lost his job in Boston, that changed everything.

The news broke on Saturday night… and by Sunday morning, Dombrowski (the president of baseball operations in Philly) had offered him the job with the Phillies. It was on Monday that Cora turned him down to spend time with his family in 2026.

Following Cora's refusal, that's when the Phillies turned to Don Mattingly, who is expected to finish the season as interim manager.

Since Mattingly's boss confirmed that Cora was his first choice, it's safe to assume that the Phillies' new interim manager understands his role in all of this. He's not crazy.

Since Mattingly hasn't been the hottest candidate on the market in years and he's getting older, I think he's well aware that he's just there until someone else comes along. That could be Alex Cora this winter…

According to Ken Rosenthal, Mattingly isn't expected to be the long-term solution for the Phillies. No surprise there.

The Phillies, who offered Rob Thomson a chance to stay with the organization in a new role after some time off, are seeing their window of opportunity close. And for 2026, they'll be going into battle with Donnie Baseball (the father of GM Preston Mattingly).

Do you think this is the right decision?

PMLB
  • George Springer could return to action tomorrow.
  • Kodai Senga is on the injured list, Luis Robert Jr. has lower back pain, and Juan Soto has forearm pain.
  • Elbow: Justin Steele must stop pitching for the time being.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.

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