Jun 3, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Philadelphia Phillies Vice President and general manager Preston Mattingly talks with Toronto Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly (46) during batting practice before a game at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images Nick Turchiaro
ORLANDO, Fla — Don Mattingly is indeed the leading candidate to be the next bench coach for the Phillies.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said as much Monday at the MLB Winter Meetings when asked about where things stand with the vacancy on Rob Thomson's coaching staff.
"Well, where it stands is that we have mutual interest with Don Mattingly," Dombrowski said. "We've worked with that. We still have some final details we're working through, so it's not official, but we have really focused on speaking with Don and trying to make that happen, and we're hopeful that it will."
After being eliminated from the postseason, the Phillies chose to retain Thomson and his staff, with one change. Former bench coach Mike Calitri shifted to the newly created role of Major League field coordinator.
Dombrowski said in his year-end press conference on Oct. 16 that the Phillies hoped their next bench coach with have prior managerial experience. When Mattingly and the Toronto Blue Jays parted ways — seemingly on good terms — following the World Series, he immediately became an obvious candidate for the job. In addition to a 14-year playing career that saw him win the 1985 AL MVP, Mattingly has previously managed both the Los Angeles Dodgers (2011-2015) and Miami Marlins (2016-2022).
What's more, Mattingly and Thomson both worked under Joe Torre on the coaching staff of the New York Yankees from 2004-2007. Thomson sounded excited Monday about the possibility of working with Mattingly again.
"I think it would be awesome," Thomson said. "I think he's a perfect fit for our ball club. Just his intelligence and presence and experience ... yeah, it would be a really good fit. But, we're not there yet."
Don Mattingly talks about the mixed emotions he had with Rob Thomson getting his first shot to manage after Joe Girardi was fired. pic.twitter.com/BIM0arE1ts
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) June 13, 2022
Of course, the elephant in the room here is that Mattingly's son, Preston, is the general manager for the Phillies. Dombrowski spoke at length about why he believes Don, 64, and Preston, 38, would be able to work successfully in high-profile roles in the same organization.
"One of the topics we did talk about — and talk about with Don and Topper and Preston — we just wanted to make sure that if that happened, from a comfort zone that will happen," Dombrowski said. "And when I talked to Don a little bit, he's talked about that too. But I do believe that every situation is different, feel very comfortable, we have a great relationship communication wise already with the clubhouse. So I'm not worried about anything coming from the clubhouse to us that shouldn't, that is not a concern.
"I think you also have to be cognizant of the people that you're talking about and the credibility that they have. And when you start talking about Don and Preston, you're talking about two people that have immense credibility. And so there's nothing that's going to come down there ... confidentiality is still confidentiality. And so they probably have dinner more than most general managers and bench coaches would have, but that's acceptable."
For his part, Preston had a great one-liner ready to go when asked about the chance to work with his dad.
"First off, I could expense these dinners," Mattingly responded, eliciting laughter from everyone in the room.
Preston then explained why he thinks it could work.
"Excited, honestly," Mattingly said of potentially working with his dad. "We're still trying to work through different things, but I think we share a common goal with everybody in the organization. We want to win a World Championship. Think he fits our roster really well and our staff, so, excited."
Don finally reached the World Series for the first time in his decades-long baseball career this past season, but the Blue Jays came two outs short of giving him his first ring. The Phillies, obviously, have gotten close but not over the hump in recent years. So as Preston said, the desire to get over the hump is a factor that could make Don a great fit for the Phillies.
It's not clear exactly when the two sides could officially come together for a contract, nor do we know what the length of the deal would be if Mattingly is tabbed to be the next bench coach.
In a related note, Dombrowski was asked — with Thomson sitting next to him — about where things stand regarding his previous statement about the Phillies looking at adding an extra year onto Thomson's contract this offseason. Currently, Thomson is in line to be a lame duck in 2026, a situation Dombrowski has previously said he doesn't like having his managers in.
"Well, you would know that would happen when we would make an announcement," Dombrowski said. "So we're not at that spot. But that doesn't change the thought process there."
