The Philadelphia Phillies’ 2026 season died Thursday night in Atlanta, but the body wasn’t even cold when the questions came firing towards Don Mattingly.
“Do you want to come back?"
“Do you think you’ve earned the right to come back?"
“Do you still want to be in baseball in some capacity moving forward?"
“What did you learn during this stint as a manager?"
It was painful with the Phillies’ season just ending with their 6-2 loss to Atlanta in the wild-card round, and Mattingly was left all alone, fending off questions about his future.
It wasn’t his fault he had no reliable bullpen.
It wasn’t his fault they had no cleanup hitter.
It wasn’t his fault there was precious little depth on the roster.
It wasn’t his fault that many of his biggest stars failed
to show up when the lights were the brightest.
But, oh, you better believe, he’ll be the one who will pay the price.
Mattingly, who managed the Phillies for five months, will be gracefully dismissed, likely 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.
But his days of managing are over.
The Phillies want new blood, new energy, a new voice.
Alex Cora, who was fired by the Red Sox in April, checks all of the boxes.
The truth is that Dombrowski wanted Cora all along, and offered him the Phillies’ job before he even fired Thomson. Cora ultimately passed, and the Phillies turned to Mattingly, who was their bench coach.
The promotion of Mattingly ooked like the perfect marriage for a couple of months, but then everything slowly started unraveling, and by the time they reached the postseason, they looked like an old, flawed team that needed a miracle to go deep into October.
It didn’t happen.
Mattingly, 65, the great Yankee first baseman who had two previous stints as manager, was the perfect guy to step in on an interim basis, but simply not for the long term.
“I want the Phillies to do what they need to do,’’ Mattingly said in his press conference, “to set themselves up for success. My stuff doesn’t really matter."
Whether he manages again or not, Mattingly still wants to remain in the game, whether it’s as a manager, coach, adviser, special assistant, or whatever title someone wants to give him.
“I love the game," he said. “I'm comfortable with whatever they want to do. Again, I want the best for the Phillies. I loved being in Philly this year. I actually like playing in that environment. It’s a rough environment, but it's good.
“Again, I think you let the organization evaluate, talk about what they think moving forward, what they should do, and that dictates a lot of different things."
Five consecutive times the Phillies have reached the postseason, and five consecutive times their season came to a screeching halt.
This year wasn’t quite as painful as the past, only because expectations weren’t as high, and with their late season collapse, they honestly were elated just to get in, avoiding perhaps the most embarrassing meltdown in MLB history.
Still, when it was all over, a team with the fifth-highest payroll in baseball, was going home.
Once again.
“Obviously it doesn't end the way we want it to," Mattingly said. “If you don't win the last game, it's a crash landing no matter what. It doesn't matter where it is.’’
The huge question now hovering over the Phillies all winter is whether they can still win with the pieces they have, or will they have to make household changes? Do they want to keep Bryce Harper, who still has five years left on his original 13-year, $330 million contract, or do they want to put him on the trade block? Do they still believe Trea Turner can be a valuable piece, or do they give up on him, even if it means eating a massive chunk of his 11-year, $300 million deal? Do they hang onto starter Aaron Nola? How about DH Kyle Schwarber?
Is it time for a full-scale youth movement?
Where do they go from here?
“I don't think it's the time right now to try to evaluate why or whatever happened,’’ Mattingly said. “What's good? What's bad? It's like any situation. You look at your club, you evaluate it. What went wrong? What went right? What's the positive? What's the negative? How do you move forward?
“But again, that's not my place to talk about that. I think that's the organization's place. It's Dave's spot…how they build the club.’’
The Phillies, with Dombrowski expected to get an extension, will build it back up this winter, maybe even rebuild it, but it won’t include Mattingly.
He did everything they asked.
It just wasn’t enough.
Once again.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Phillies may need hard reset with Don Mattingly paying the price | Opinion
