Former Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly gets big promotion after Phillies fire manager

Former Toronto Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly has been hired as the new manager of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies fired Canadian Rob Thomson Tuesday (Apr 28) morning after an abysmal 9-19 start, tied for the worst record in the league with the New York Mets.

Mattingly was hired as the bench coach before the start of the 2026 season after ending a three-year tenure as the bench coach of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Don Mattingly gets back into the managerial seat for the first time since 2022

This is Mattingly's first managerial position since he was the leader of the Miami Marlins from 2016-2022. During his tenure in Miami, Mattingly led the team to their first playoff appearance in 17 years, where they fell to the Atlanta Braves in the ALDS.

His most notable managerial run was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he led the Dodgers to the postseason in three consecutive years, including a trip to the NLCS before falling in back-to-back NLDS'. As a manager, his total win-loss percentage sits at .483, along with having a 10-14 record in the playoffs.

Following the Marlins stint, Mattingly joined the Blue Jays as their bench coach to help be a veteran presence for skipper John Schneider. His time in Toronto saw him reach the World Series for the first time in his overall baseball career, where the Blue Jays fell to the Dodgers in seven games.

As for Thomson, his firing comes as a surprise after he led the Phillies to the 2022 World Series in his first season as Philadelphia's skipper. Additionally, Thomson never missed the playoffs as Phillies manager and signed an extension through 2027 just this past offseason.

However, a drastic drop in performance eventually led to his dismissal, and this may have been for good reason. The Phillies rank 29th in MLB in batting average at .219, 29th in ERA at 5.13, and lost 11 of their last 12 games.

Regardless, given how early in the season it is, the decision not to continue letting him try to turn the team around after the team's success in the last four seasons will linger in the minds of Phillies fans.

Thomson becomes the second manager fired in as many days, as the Boston Red Sox cleared house in letting go of manager Alex Cora and most of the coaching staff. Reports suggest that Cora was actually offered the managerial role in Philadelphia, but declined it before it was offered to Mattingly.

"Donnie baseball" will now be the one to try and turn the fortunes of the Phillies around, or he'll be in the hot seat as well.

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