Overview
- The Phillies were eliminated by the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card round on Friday, ending their 2026 season and leaving Mattingly’s interim status unresolved.
- An opinion report says Mattingly is likely to be 'gracefully' removed in the coming days, but Mattingly told reporters he has had no conversations with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski about 2027.
- Several core players including Aaron Nola, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto publicly expressed support for Mattingly and praised his work since taking over in April.
- Dombrowski previously offered the interim job to Alex Cora and is viewed as likely to pursue Cora if he chooses to manage, making an external search a real possibility for the Phillies.
- The club faces a costly offseason choice between keeping high‑payroll veterans such as Bryce Harper and Trea Turner or pursuing a deeper reset to address a shaky bullpen, thin roster depth, and a below‑average offense.