Phillies Make Don Mattingly Decision After Brutal Postseason Exit

After losing the Wild Card Series in heartbreaking fashion, the Phillies have decided on Don Mattingly's future with the team.

by Joe Najarian

Oct 2, 2026

Phillies manager Don Mattingly.

Mandatory Credit&colon; Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies came up short yet again after losing the winner-take-all Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series to the Atlanta Braves.

It was a turbulent year for the Phillies, who now face numerous questions about their long-term outlook after consistently underperforming in the postseason since 2023. And it appears one big question has been answered right away, as Philadelphia will look for new on-field leadership.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Phillies will not be bringing interim manager Don Mattingly back into the dugout next season. While Philadelphia has yet to officially announce this decision, Nightengale expects Mattingly to be “gracefully dismissed” in the coming week.

“The Phillies will announce the decision as a mutual parting, and will offer Mattingly the chance to stay in the organization, perhaps as an advisor, where his son, Preston, is the GM under Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations,” Nightengale wrote. “But his days of managing are over. The Phillies want new blood, new energy, a new voice.”

Mattingly, 65, joined the Phillies during the 2025-26 offseason to become their bench coach after serving that role with the Toronto Blue Jays from 2023 to 2025. However, after manager Rob Thomson was fired on April 28, Mattingly took over as interim manager.

The Phillies were 9-19 at the time of Thomson’s firing, yet Mattingly proceeded to guide them to a 79-55 record the rest of the way to make the postseason as a Wild Card team. Philadelphia’s record under Donnie Baseball was the fourth-best in MLB since they made the managerial change. Nonetheless, the team’s recent showings likely contributed to the decision to not bring Mattingly back.

Philadelphia went 10-14 in September and lost six of their last nine games of the season, putting them in danger of losing their playoff spot before clinching in the final day of the year. In the Wild Card Series against the Braves, Mattingly made the controversial decision to start the struggling Aaron Nola over perennial ace Zack Wheeler in the decisive Game 3.

That move backfired immediately as Nola got only five outs before being pulled; he surrendered a back-breaking three-run home run to Michael Harris II in the bottom of the first inning. Wheeler eventually entered the game in relief and pitched four innings, but one of the three hits he allowed was a two-run shot to Ozzie Albies that put the game out of reach. The 6-2 defeat ended the Phillies’ season.

Mattingly likely saw the writing on the wall based on his postgame response to a question about his future as manager.

“I want the Phillies to do what they need to do to set themselves up for success,” Mattingly said to the media. “My stuff doesn’t really matter.”

Much like Bryce Harper, who could enter trade rumors amid the Phillies’ contention window starting to close, Mattingly is still looking for his first World Series championship as a player or coach.

He spent his entire playing career with the New York Yankees and became one of their most beloved players, but he infamously made just one postseason appearance in what was his final season. Mattingly finally made his first World Series appearance with the Blue Jays last season, but was within two outs of that elusive title before Toronto lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Time will tell what Mattingly’s future in baseball is and whether it comes with the Phillies or another team. Regardless, it doesn’t appear to be as Philadelphia’s manager despite his best efforts to turn its 2026 season around.