Manager Don Mattingly Still Has Uncertain Future With Phillies Despite Success

The Philadelphia Phillies have officially made the postseason, and while it was a strange road to get there, it was an impressive accomplishment considering how the team started the year.

While it might feel like a long time ago, the Phillies were at one point this season (9-19) with the worst run differential in baseball. The struggles for a team that had a ton of expectations resulted in manager Rob Thomson being fired.

Thomson is a guy who had a lot of winning seasons with Philadelphia, but despite the success, the team elected to move in a different direction. While they did make a run at Alex Cora after he was shockingly let go by the Boston Red Sox, they ultimately made Don Mattingly the interim manager.

Pretty much right away, the former New York Yankees great was able to help turn things around for the franchise. Now, the team has made the postseason, but his future is still very much up in the air.

Phillies owner John Middleton recently was asked about Don Mattingly’s performance as the interim manager. While he praised what Mattingly was able to accomplish, he did highlight that whether or not the interim tag would be removed is a Dave Dombrowski decision.

Mattingly’s Future Remains Uncertain

Despite the 9-14 finish, the Phillies went 79-55 under Don Mattingly. John Middleton noted that it was a 95-win full-season pace. “Pretty damn good,” he said.

Good enough to remove “interim” from Mattingly’s title?

“That’s Dave (Dombrowski)’s decision,” Middleton said.
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) September 28, 2026

As the manager, Mattingly was able to go 79-55, and while there were some struggles down the stretch, the team did play very well with him running the show.

If the Phillies were to have missed the playoffs, they certainly would have gone in a different direction. However, they are now in the postseason, and anything could happen.

Philadelphia will be starting things off against the Atlanta Braves in a three-game series, and with just two wins needed to advance, it wouldn’t be overly surprising if they were able to accomplish that.

However, in terms of Mattingly’s future, there is still the looming cloud of Cora potentially coming to manage the Phillies. With the team being interested in him during the year, that interest likely remains.

In order to get the interim tag removed, Mattingly and the Phillies might have to go on an extended postseason run. With the National League being so challenging, doing so will be a tall task.

Overall, while his future with the team remains uncertain, it has certainly been a good year for Mattingly as the interim manager. What he has been able to accomplish should not go overlooked, and the Phillies making the postseason is certainly in part because of him.

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