Phillies hire Don Mattingly as bench coach

It’s official: Don Mattingly will be the Phillies bench coach in 2026. 

There was a delay in finalizing the hire, but Mattingly, 64, was the favorite to land the job as early as November. Dave Dombrowski said at the winter meetings that the Phillies were focused on hiring Mattingly for the job. 

Mattingly, one of the most iconic players in baseball history, spent the last three seasons as bench coach of the Toronto Blue Jays. Mattingly also managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011 to 2015 and Miami Marlins from 2016 to 2022. His next stop in his illustrious career is Philadelphia, where he will work alongside his son Preston, who is the general manager of the team. 

In October, Dave Dombrowski announced a reshuffling of the coaching staff. Mike Calitri, the Phillies’ bench coach since Rob Thomson was promoted to manager in 2022, was reassigned to the newly created major league field coordinator position. All other coaches on the 2025 staff were retained for 2026. Assistant hitting coach Dustin Lind was later hired as the Orioles’ lead hitting coach. To replace Lind, the Phillies promoted Edwar Gonzalez from minor league director of hitting development to assistant hitting coach for the major league club. 

Mattingly and Thomson will address the media over Zoom later today.