Phillies moving on from hitting coach Kevin Long

Mattingly had his interim manager tag expire two weeks ago when the Phillies were eliminated from the postseason, and there were reports that the team reached out, again, to Alex Cora to offer him the manager job. Cora reportedly declined, and so the Phillies appear to have gone back to Mattingly. The former Yankees great led the Phillies to a 79-55 record after taking over managerial duties in late April; however, the team collapsed in September and almost missed the postseason. The 65-year-old, who happens to be the father of Phillies general manager Preston Mattingly, will begin the season on a two-year deal, carrying him through the 2028 season.

Mattingly served as the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays for the last three seasons, but decided not to return at the end of the season. While some assumed he would be looking to find a mangerial role again, he never interviewed for any and landed on the Phillies’ staff.

Pretty stunning. Needing to be included on 12 to make the Hall of Fame, Kent was named on 14 of the 16 ballots. Carlos Delgado, who was one-and-done on the BBWAA ballot, received nine votes, and both Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy were chosen by six Committee members. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield and Fernando Valenzuela were listed on fewer than five ballots and thus won’t be eligible to make the 2028 ballot when this committee for post-1980 players is up again. Many suspected that Mattingly was the favorite today, especially given the makeup of the committee as none of the seven players included played beyond the mid-90s. Kent definitely had a better case by the numbers, hitting .290/.356/.500 over 17 big-league seasons. His 377 homers are the most ever from someone whose primary position was second base.

Mattingly is looking to do something different, it seems, though it doesn’t appear as though he’s interviewed for any managerial openings. Phillies reporter Jim Salisbury said he could land in Philadelphia as the team’s new bench coach. Mattingly managed the Dodgers for five years and the Marlins for seven before spending the last three seasons as the Jays’ bench coach.

As always, the conversation around this year’s class will be dominated by discussions of Bonds and Clemens, who are both seemingly being kept out due to their past involvement with steroids. Perhaps this year will be different. Any player who gets 75 percent of the vote from a committee of writers, historians, and baseball executives will be selected into the Hall of Fame.

Instead, Mattingly will operate as a “more traditional” bench coach. The 63-year-old was in charge of the Toronto offense in 2024, and it didn’t go very well with Toronto ranking among the most disappointing offenses in baseball.

Rosenthal adds that Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy, Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly, Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough, Astros hitting coach Troy Snitker and former Braves infielder Rickie Weeks are also candidates, according to sources briefed on the club’s thinking. The sudden departure of manager Craig Counsell has opened up a vacancy in Milwaukee and it doesn’t sound like they’ve quite narrowed down their field of potential candidates.

It’s anticipated that the deal will get wrapped up quickly and an official announcement should be made before the week is through. Mattingly, 61, spent the past seven seasons managing the Miami Marlins to a 443-587 (.430) record. He makes sense for the Jays to hire an experienced bench coach as manager John Schneider -- who just sided a three-year contract in October -- has only managed 74 games in his career.

Heyman adds that the Marlins are expected to make a final decision soon. Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports that the Marlins have also scheduled a second interview with former Mets manager Luis Rojas, who seems like the “mystery” fourth candidate in Heyman’s reporting. It would appear that there could be a new skipper in Miami before the Fall Classic kicks off later this week.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid was first to report that Rojas, who served as the Yankees’ third base coach in 2022, was under consideration for the job. The other three finalists in Miami are Astros bench coach Joe Espada, Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, and Cardinals bench coach Skip Schumaker. Second interviews with these candidates have either already taken place or are set to happen this week, and it seems like the Marlins will have a replacement for Don Mattingly by the end of the month.