Former Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly gets new manager role

Philadelphia announced the move Tuesday morning after a 9-19 start that finally broke the club's patience. The Phillies also promoted Dusty Wathan to bench coach and Anthony Contreras to third-base coach.

That is a stunning turn for Thomson, because this was not a manager barely hanging on. MLB.com said he leaves with a .568 winning percentage, the best of any Phillies manager in the Modern Era, while AP reported he guided the club to 4 straight playoff appearances.

Still, the start buried him. AP said the Phillies had lost 11 of 12 and were tied for last in the majors at 9-19 when the change came down.

That is where Mattingly steps in, and Blue Jays fans know this version of him well. He spent the last 3 seasons as Toronto's bench coach after joining John Schneider's staff in November 2022.

He did not leave Toronto because he was done with baseball, either. MLB.com reported in January that Mattingly was hired as Thomson's bench coach in Philadelphia as soon as his Blue Jays contract expired.

This is not a ceremonial appointment. The Phillies named him interim manager through the end of the season, which means Philadelphia is asking a longtime baseball voice to steady a club that has badly underplayed its roster.

Mattingly brings real experience to that job. The Good Phight noted he has managed 12 seasons in the majors with the Dodgers and Marlins, posting an 889-950 record with 3 division titles and 2 playoff series wins.

That history is part of why this lands hard in Toronto. Mattingly was a trusted sounding board for Schneider, especially during Toronto's run to the 2025 World Series, and his exit already left a different feel around the Blue Jays' dugout.

Now he walks into a Phillies clubhouse under real pressure. The team was built to contend, not to spend April at the bottom of the standings with its manager taking the fall.

For Mattingly, this is another chance to show he is more than a respected baseball lifer moving between staffs. It is a chance to rescue a season that already looks close to slipping.

For the Phillies, the message is even clearer. Rob Thomson's track record was not enough to save him, and now Don Mattingly has the rest of the season to prove this club still has a pulse.