Don Mattingly Joins New Team As Bench Coach

January 05, 2026 ,

Toronto Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly looks on during 2025 game.

The Philadelphia Phillies have made a major staff addition, hiring Don Mattingly as Rob Thomson’s new bench coach. 

Mattingly steps into the role after spending the past three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays, and he replaces Mike Calitri, who shifted into the organization’s major league field coordinator job.

Phillies add Don Mattingly to Rob Thomson’s staff

Philadelphia’s front office had been connected to Mattingly for a bit, with Dave Dombrowski acknowledging last month that he’d talked to him about the vacancy. Thomson also has history with Mattingly from their New York Yankees days, and the Phillies manager made it clear the organization is getting a trusted baseball lifer who can be a true right-hand man in the dugout.

Mattingly’s arrival is also a family reunion. His son, Preston Mattingly, is the Phillies’ general manager, giving the club a unique father-son dynamic in the baseball operations mix, even with Dombrowski still sitting atop the decision-making ladder.

Mattingly brings a long resume and plenty of hardware

If the Phillies wanted experience, they got it. Mattingly managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011-15 and the Miami Marlins from 2016-22, winning National League Manager of the Year in 2020 after guiding Miami back to the postseason. 

After that, he transitioned to Toronto as bench coach and also carried the “offensive coordinator” title in the organization.

And the playing career speaks for itself too. Mattingly spent his entire 14-year MLB run with the New York Yankees, won the 1985 American League MVP, made six All-Star teams, and collected nine Gold Gloves. He finished with a .307 batting average, 2,153 hits, 222 home runs and 1,099 RBIs across 1,785 games.

Photo Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

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