The Philadelphia Phillies decided to keep Don Mattingly as their manager for the foreseeable future, announcing a two-year contract with their former interim skipper.

While the Phillies eventually settled on Mattingly, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported that the organization reached out to two other names in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization during the process:

Before the Philadelphia Phillies finalized their decision to rehire Don Mattingly as their manager, they reached out to Chase Utley and Raúl Ibañez, two high-profile names from their recent past, to gauge their interest in the job, according to two team sources with firsthand knowledge of those discussions. Both politely declined, those sources said.

With the Dodgers, Raúl Ibañez has been vice president of baseball development and special projects since 2024, while Chase Utley was brought on as special assistant to the president this year.

Utley was an obvious choice for his connection to the organization. He hit .282/.366/.481 with 346 doubles, 233 home runs, and 916 RBI across 13 seasons. Not to mention, six All-Star selections, four Silver Slugger Awards and a World Series championship in 2008.

The Phillies’ 2000 first-round pick was inducted into the organization’s Wall of Fame this year.

Ibañez’s career in Philadelphia was not nearly as long or as decorated in comparison, but he did earn his first and only All-Star appearance in 2009.

As for Mattingly, he was tabbed as the team’s interim manager this season just 28 games into the 2026 schedule. He led the Phillies to a postseason berth, but the team was eliminated in the Wild Card Round.

Philadelphia went 79-55 under his watch in the regular season. Next season will be his first as a full-time manager since 2022 with the Miami Marlins. He was also the Dodgers’ manager from 2011-2015.

MLB Proposes scheduling and postseason changes

New proposals were brought to the negotiating table as discussions for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) continue.

MLB’s latest proposal to the Players Association (MLBPA) also included a shortened regular season, expanding the Division Series to a best-of-seven, and allowing for opponent selection in the Wild Card and DS rounds of the playoffs.

A lockout is expected to begin once the current CBA expires on Dec. 1, unless a new agreement is reached, which is unlikely to happen before then.

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