Former Blue Jays coach and Yankees legend, joins the Phillies bench staff

The Philadelphia Phillies announced on Monday morning that former Toronto Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly has been hired for the same role he served with the Blue Jays.

Mattingly stated in November that he would be leaving the Blue Jays after three seasons with the franchise. He joins Phillies manager Rob Thomson in the dugout, with whom Mattingly is familiar after their days together in the minor leagues with the New York Yankees organization.

Don Mattingly joins the Philadelphia Phillies

A key reason why Mattingly joined the Phillies is to be with his son, Preston, who was hired as Philadelphia's general manager in November 2024. Mattingly leaves Toronto following the Blue Jays' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series. A win would've given Mattingly his first World Series title in his career. He never before reached the Fall Classic as either a player or manager.

In a meet-and-greet at MLB's flagship store in New York, Mattingly stated, "I had a pretty good feeling that this was going to be my last year in Toronto" and "was close to that decision before the season even started."

"Had a great time there, the organization has been tremendous. The fans there are tremendous. It’s been a great run. But, before the year started, I felt like this was kind of the end with Toronto. Really nothing more than that," said Mattingly.

2026 will be Mattingly's 40th season in MLB. He spent his entire playing career with the Yankees from 1982-1995. He would go on to join the Yankees' coaching staff in 2004 before jumping to the Dodgers and becoming their manager in 2011. After the 2015 season, Mattingly became the Marlins' manager from 2016 to 2022. Following his exit from Miami, Mattingly joined the Blue Jays in 2023.

At the time of this writing, the Blue Jays continue to hunt for Mattingly's replacement, as most of the 2025 staff will stay with the team in 2026.