Don Mattingly, Phillies get to work on offseason changes - ESPN

Now that the manager position has been taken care of, the Philadelphia Phillies can get to work on the changes to come this offseason, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Thursday.

The Phillies poked around for other options, but they settled on retaining Don Mattingly, signing the interim manager to a two-year deal on Wednesday.

Now Mattingly, who took over after Rob Thomson was fired in April, is ready to put his stamp on the team after going 79-55 to earn a National League Wild Card berth.

«Last year really wasn't my team,» Mattingly told reporters on a video call Thursday. «It was Thomps' team. I took over from that point and just kind of just drove the car from there.»

He added: «I think there are things that I want to do differently.»

The Phillies' aging core of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have made five straight playoff appearances and averaged 91 wins per year during that stretch, but they haven't won the World Series.

Trea Turner, who led the NL in hitting and made only eight errors in 2025, regressed in his fourth season with the Phillies to a .242 batting average, a .675 OPS and a league-worst 21 errors at shortstop. He went 1-for-10 in the playoffs and still has seven years left on his $300 million, 11-year deal, all but making him immovable in the trade market.

The Dombrowski, 70, who is entering the final year of his contract in 2027, said he told Turner earlier this week that he needs to show in spring training he can play at shortstop or else the veteran could potentially move to the outfield.

«He needs to fix some things with his swing,» Dombrowski said. «From a defensive perspective, we were very clear: He knows he has to be better at