{"id":692771,"date":"2026-05-07T15:48:29","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/692771\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T15:48:29","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:48:29","slug":"phillies-suddenly-relevant-in-national-league-race-thanks-to-some-nepotism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/692771\/","title":{"rendered":"Phillies suddenly relevant in National League race thanks to some nepotism"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Philadelphia Phillies entered the 2026 MLB<\/a> season with massive expectations. Instead, they spent most of April looking completely lost. A roster built to contend in the National League stumbled out of the gate and finished the month as one of the most disappointing teams in baseball. Something had to change. And the Phillies made a bold one.<\/p>\n

MORE: MLB power rankings: 30 teams ranked worst to first on May 7th, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Oct 23, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thompson leaves the field celebration after their 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres to win the National League Pennant in game five of the NLCS for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

The Move That Changed Everything<\/p>\n

Near the end of April, Philadelphia fired manager Rob Thomson and replaced him with someone already sitting in the dugout: Don Mattingly.<\/p>\n

On paper, the hire made sense. Mattingly has extensive MLB managerial experience with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins, along with coaching stops with the New York Yankees, Dodgers, and Toronto Blue Jays. The surprising part wasn\u2019t that Mattingly got the job. It was how he got it.<\/p>\n

Keeping It in the Family<\/p>\n

Mattingly\u2019s son happens to be the Phillies\u2019 general manager. That\u2019s where the nepotism conversation begins. Philadelphia could have conducted an outside search, promoted another coach internally, or just taken a completely different direction.<\/p>\n

Instead, the GM hired his father. Normally, that kind of move would be met with skepticism across baseball. But right now? It\u2019s hard to argue with the results.<\/p>\n

\"\"Apr 28, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly (8) acknowledges the crowd after win against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Phillies Have Completely Turned Things Around<\/p>\n

Since Don Mattingly took over, the Phillies have looked like an entirely different team. In fact, they currently own the second-best record in the National League during that stretch. The only team better? The Chicago Cubs, who have caught fire with an eight-game winning streak.<\/p>\n

That turnaround has suddenly pushed Philadelphia right back into the NL conversation after looking dead in the water just weeks ago. Whether it\u2019s lineup adjustments, clubhouse energy, or simply a new voice, something has clearly changed. Mattingly brings:<\/p>\n

Experience<\/p>\n

Credibility<\/p>\n

Calm leadership<\/p>\n

And for a team that looked like it was spiraling early in the year, that stability appears to matter.<\/p>\n

\"\"May 6, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies interim manger coach Don Mattingly (8) walks off the field after making a pitching change against the Athletics during the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/p>\n

As a Yankees fan, I will always have a soft spot for Don Mattingly. I am happy to see him get another shot at a managerial job, and I am even happier to see him succeeding so far. <\/p>\n

Still, though, was it nepotism? Absolutely. Did it work? So far, yes. The Phillies took a gamble by keeping the decision in the family, and instead of becoming a distraction, it may have saved their season.<\/p>\n

And suddenly, a team that looked irrelevant in April is right back in the middle of the National League race.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead\u00a0<\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Philadelphia Phillies entered the 2026 MLB season with massive expectations. Instead, they spent most of April looking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":692772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2397],"tags":[5,9925,4,505,144,25,4216,40],"class_list":["post-692771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia-phillies","tag-baseball","tag-don-mattingly","tag-mlb","tag-national-league","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-phillies","tag-philadelphiaphillies","tag-phillies"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116534084730875978","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=692771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/692771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/692772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=692771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=692771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=692771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}