PHILADELPHIA -- Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said Monday that he has not been told if he will return next season.
He hopes to hear soon.
"I'm signed through next year," Mackanin said, referring to the contract extension Phillies general manager Matt Klentak signed him to in May. "I assume I'll be here, but you never know. You never know what they're going to do. So you just keep moving on. I just take it a day at a time and manage the way I think I should manage and handle players the way I think I should handle them. That's all I can do. If it's not good enough then … fine. I hope it's good enough. I hope he thinks it's good enough."
In an interview with MLB.com on Sept. 15, Klentak gave Mackanin and his coaching staff credit for their ability to work through a rough first half. The Phillies were 29-58 (.333) at the All-Star break, which was the worst record in baseball. They are 33-36 (.478) since the break and 19-17 (.528) since Aug. 18.
Does that mean Mackanin is going to be the guy next year?
"When we signed him to the extension, the intention was to take the drama out of both this year and next year," Klentak said at the time. "Beyond that we'll have to see, but I think when we signed Pete that was right in the beginning stages of our struggles. The fact that he and his staff were able to weather the storm and get us going on the right track was really important for us this season.
"Everything I've said about Pete at various times is still the case. He and I will get together either late in the year or right after the season is over and talk about the rest of the staff and how we move forward."
Mackanin, Klentak and others are meeting Saturday to discuss the team's 40-man roster. The Phillies clearly have a more talented roster today than they had Opening Day, so the team should be in a better position to win next year, especially if the front office upgrades a pitching staff that ranks in the bottom third in baseball in ERA.
Mackanin was asked if he thought Klentak would ask him about things he and his staff needed to do better next year.
"To get around these types of questions, it always seems to boil down to do you need better coaches, do you need a better manager?" Mackanin said. "The answer to all these questions [is] you need better players. You need players who are going to be better players. Look at the Nationals. They were on the verge, then this kid Trea Turner came out of nowhere and hit .330 for them. They had players who are impact players. That's what we need.
"Rhys Hoskins might be one of those guys. That's what this conversation comes from. It is blame the manager, coaches. What if the players perform better? How can we get the players to perform better? Everybody tries hard to do that."
Mackanin praised his coaching staff Monday.
"It would've been easy to just give up on those guys," he said. "But they're out there every day. I think we do more on a daily basis than any other team to be honest with you."
That doesn't mean Mackanin will not need to make changes to his coaching staff, although nobody has told him that yet.
He should learn more soon, including his own future with the Phillies.
"I still don't know if I'll be here next year," Mackanin said. "I don't know."