PHILADELPHIA – Rob Thomson’s new right-hand man has decades of experience playing, coaching and managing in the big leagues.
The Phillies announced on Monday that Don Mattingly, 64, has been hired as bench coach.
Mattingly’s name first surfaced as a candidate in early November, after the Phillies announced in October that former bench coach Mike Calitri would be moved into a new role as Major League field coordinator. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said that they wanted somebody with managerial experience. He confirmed at last month’s Winter Meetings that they planned to hire Mattingly.
The Phillies had been waiting only for Mattingly’s contract to expire with the Blue Jays – he had been Toronto’s bench coach the past three years – to make it official.
Mattingly not only has a Hall of Fame-quality playing career with the Yankees, but he has extensive managerial and coaching experience. It should bring a new level of clubhouse credibility to the Phillies’ coaching staff.
Mattingly managed the Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Marlins from ’16-22. Besides his time coaching in Toronto, he coached under former Yankees and Dodgers manager Joe Torre from 2004-10.
Mattingly and Thomson know each other from their time together in the Yankees’ organization.
“I think it’d be awesome,” Thomson said last month. “I think it’s a perfect fit for a ballclub. Just his intelligence and presence and experience. It would be a really good fit.”
Mattingly’s son is current Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly. Dombrowski last month addressed the fact that the father-son combo could be a potential issue in the clubhouse, if players felt there was a direct line of communication from the clubhouse to the front office.
“I’m not worried about anything coming from the clubhouse up to us that shouldn’t,” Dombrowski said. “That is not a concern. I think you also have to be cognizant of the people that you’re talking about and the credibility that they have. When you start talking about Don and Preston, you’re talking about two people that have immense credibility, and so there’s nothing that’s going to come down there. Confidentiality is still confidentiality.”
Thomson took heat for in-game decisions in the 2025 NLDS against the Dodgers. For that reason – maybe not – the Phillies felt they needed to make a change at bench coach.
Dombrowski, however, first pushed for a change following the 2024 postseason.
“We share a common goal with everybody in the organization,” Preston Mattingly said. “We want to win a world championship. I think he fits our roster really well and our staff. I’m excited.”
