Don Mattingly will stay on as Phillies manager after landing a two-year deal Wednesday. The former Blue Jays bench coach earned it.

Mattingly, 65, took over as interim manager just 28 games into the season after Rob Thomson was fired in April. He went 79-55 the rest of the way.

The finish wasn't smooth. Philadelphia lost four straight in the final week before clinching a wild-card berth in the last game of the regular season.

The run ended in the wild-card round. The Braves won the decisive Game 3, 6-2.

Nobody should pretend he was the first choice. Dave Dombrowski was turned down twice by Alex Cora, once when Thomson was fired and again after the season.

Mattingly was the fallback both times. But a manager who flipped a season after taking over in April isn't anybody's consolation prize.

DeMarlo Hale and Pete Walker stay put in Toronto

The decision also settles something for the Blue Jays. With Cora out of the picture, there was chatter Philadelphia might look at associate manager DeMarlo Hale or pitching coach Pete Walker.

That door is now closed. John Schneider won't lose either of them to Philadelphia heading into a pressure-packed 2027.

Mattingly's Toronto ties are fresh. He was the Jays' bench coach in 2025 as they lost Game 7 of the World Series to the Dodgers.

His resume runs deep. He managed the Dodgers from 2011 to 2015 and the Marlins from 2016 to 2022, winning NL Manager of the Year in 2020.

The job won't be easy. The rotation of Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Jesús Luzardo is strong, but the lineup around Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner is aging.

Harper is likely heading back to first base, leaving right field as a question mark. That matters in Toronto, where Harper has been floated as a trade target.

Does Harper at first change the trade chatter? It suggests Philadelphia is planning around him rather than shopping him.

Mattingly is the substitute teacher who ended up running the school. Nobody planned it that way, but the kids responded.

He and Dombrowski speak Thursday. The Phillies' core has made five straight playoff trips without a title, and two years is exactly how long Mattingly has to change that.