Phillies: Here’s What It Would Take for Don Mattingly to Keep His Job

As you know, Alex Cora's (Boston) firing earlier this season had quite an impact on MLB.

After all, when the Red Sox changed managers, it led many teams to imagine having that experienced manager at the helm of their club.

Among them? We have to assume that the Mets, who had a rough start to the season, considered the possibility of hiring Alex Cora.

We know the Phillies are among them. Dave Dombrowski made no secret of it: he called Cora as soon as Cora lost his job.

Remember that the two of them won a championship together in Boston in 2018. They still have an excellent relationship to this day.

But when Cora told DD that he wanted to take the summer off to be with his family, Dombrowski fired Rob Thomson anyway.

Don Mattingly, a baseball veteran, was promoted from bench coach to interim manager to finish out the 2026 season.

But what's next?

We know Mattingly wants to keep his job for 2027, but we also suspect that Alex Cora will be officially hired—if all goes well—during the offseason.

On that note, Bob Nightengale (USA Today) wrote about what it would take for the Phillies to change their plans and keep Mattingly.

According to the reporter, unless the team makes it to the World Series (or even wins it), Mattingly won't be the manager in 2027.

That doesn't surprise me.

Look at the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL: John Tortorella led the team to within a few wins of the Stanley Cup, but he was let go anyway.

The plan has always been to bring in Ryan Craig, and even a strong playoff run didn't change that. I see the same scenario on the horizon for the Phillies.

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