The Philadelphia Phillies were among the worst teams in MLB through the first month of games. A 9-19 start led general manager Dave Dombrowski to fire manager Rob Thomson and name bench coach Don Mattingly the interim manager.
Since Mattingly took over, the Phillies are 57-39 and entered Sunday in a three-way tie for the second NL wild-card spot. All of the recent success, though, may not be enough for Mattingly to have his interim tag removed headed into the 2027 season.
Alex Cora is likely to be Phillies manager in 2027
According to MLB insider Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Philadelphia is expected to part ways with Mattingly and hire former Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora ahead of the 2027 season.
Cora’s Red Sox got off to a 10-17 start, and he was fired three days before the Phillies fired Thomson. Cora was actually offered the Philadelphia job for the remainder of the season, but he turned it down. Now, he has reemerged as the clear favorite to be the head man for the Phillies in 2027.