The Phillies are keeping Don Mattingly as manager on a 2-year deal

The 65-year-old Mattingly was hired last offseason to serve as a bench coach and had another year left on his contract. With an MLB work stoppage on the table in December, leaving at least parts of next season in doubt, Mattingly is the safe and familiar choice to oversee a roster that includes Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and one of the top rotations in baseball.

Dombrowski has yet to hold his annual end-of-season press conference — he and Mattingly will speak Thursday, the team said. The Phillies were eliminated from the playoffs on Oct. 1.

The Phillies’ September swoon prevented them from lining up their pitching against Atlanta because it took until Game 162 to clinch a playoff spot.

Philadelphia forced Game 3 against the Braves with three dramatic solo home runs late in Game 2. But in the end, the Phillies were eliminated from the postseason for the fifth consecutive year as they chase their first World Series title since 2008.

The Phillies’ core of Harper, Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have made five straight playoff appearances and averaged 91 wins per year during that stretch. They have yet to win a championship and have been eliminated further and further from that goal each season since reaching the 2022 World Series.

The following season, Philadelphia exited in the National League Championship Series, and the next two years saw losses in the Division Series. A wild-card exit this season marked another step in the wrong direction.

Mattingly was one of three interim managers in baseball last season. Andy Green of the New York Mets and Chad Tracy of the Red Sox each were midseason replacements who eventually had the interim tag removed.

A six-time AL All-Star in his playing career with the New York Yankees, Mattingly is the father of Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly.

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Dan Gelston, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

The Phillies are keeping Don Mattingly as manager on a 2-year deal

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