PHILADELPHIA -- Alex Cora has once again declined to be the Phillies’ manager.
Will they turn again to Don Mattingly?
USA Today first reported late Tuesday night that Cora sometime in the past few days had declined president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s overtures to be the next Phillies manager.
Dombrowski has wanted to hire Cora for months. Dombrowski dismissed former manager Rob Thomson on April 28, following a 9-19 start, about 48 hours after he offered Thomson’s job to Cora. Only when Cora said no did Dombrowski promote Mattingly from bench coach to interim manager.
Mattingly said this summer that he would like to return as manager in 2027. The Phillies had the fourth-best record in baseball from April 28 through the end of the regular season, despite an offense that ranked 19th in runs (713) and a bullpen that finished 21st in ERA (4.43). But while the Red Sox and Mets removed interim tags from managers Chad Tracy and Andy Green, respectively, before the end of the regular season, Mattingly’s interim title remained.
It was believed, again, because Dombrowski had eyes for Cora. USA Today even reported last week that Mattingly would be “gracefully dismissed, likely in the coming week” with the Phillies announcing a “mutual parting.”
But Cora’s decision to not manage in 2027 might have changed those plans. The Phillies could now remove Mattingly’s interim tag, or begin an entirely new managerial search.