Phillies Discussion (10/15/2026)

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Here’s a new Phillies Discussion. 

My original observation here was very different but changed after listening to Dave Dombrowski’s presser this morning.  Originally, I thought the Phillies mishandled the firing of Rob Thomson and the promotion of Don Mattingly.  I have no problem with the Phillies re-hiring Don Mattingly, but how they got there (if accurate) seemed a little embarrassing.

  • After Alex Cora was fired by the Red Sox on April 25th, it was reported that he was approached by the Phillies as a replacement for manager Rob Thomson the next day by several media outlets.  The problem was that Thomson was still the active Phillies manager. Cora expressed no interest in the job at the time.
  • After firing player favorite Thomson on April 28th, the Phillies promoted Mattingly to interim manager.  He maintained the interim tag for the rest of the season.
  • After the completion of the season, the Phillies announced that Mattingly would satisfy the one remaining year on his contract as an adviser, leaving the manager’s position vacant.
  • They courted Cora a second time and were turned down again.
  • With that, the Phillies began their manager search in earnest.  They conducted a couple of interviews before announcing Mattingly as the manager.

This should end any future speculation regarding Cora.  His Red Sox contract runs through 2027.  Mattingly signed a two-year deal through 2028.  The additional year is probably the cost of shunning Mattingly in the first place.  Cora on the other hand had over 7 million reasons to pass on the Phillies’ manager job.  He is in the third year of a contract extension he signed with Boston.  At the time of the signing, it was the third highest manager contract for $21.75M ($7.25M/year).

This morning, Dombrowski indicated during his presser that Mattingly was the favorite as they started their manager search.  He also stated that MLB rules require an interview process to replace a manager.  He also stated that the commissioner can approve removing the interim tag and allow the avoidance of conducting of a manager interview process.  They had done so with Thomson.  He had just taken the Phillies to the World Series and the commissioner approved the move.  It was reported in the late afternoon that Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez were among those considered but were content in their current positions on the west coast.

This Phillies also announced that they severed ties with Kevin Longwood and Bobby Dickerson, that Anthony Contreras would be the third base coach, and that they signed Tim Mayza to a major league contract.

Normally, MLB prefers that trades and other announcements not take place in the run up to and during the world series.  The Mayza signing may not appear on transaction lists until after the series.

One baseball writer asked Dombrowski if he expected any make any trades or such during the next six weeks.  Dombrowski answered the question as politely as possible.

In the month or so in 2021 leading up to the lockout the Phillies had several transactions leading up to the lockout.  Some were in compliance with contracted dates in the soon to be expired CBA, like adding players to the 40-man roster.  A lot were minor league transactions including those where players were signed to act as depth at Lehigh Valley.  The Phillies transactions were –

  • 12/01/2021 – Phillies signed FAs RHP Corey Knebel, 3B Johan Camargo
  • 12/01/2021 – Phillies designated RHP Adonis Medina for assignment
  • 11/30/2021 – Phillies tender contracts to Rhys Hoskins, Zach Eflin, Jose Alvarado
  • 11/30/2021 – Phillies non-tender OF Roman Quinn, he elected free agency
  • 11/30/2021 – Phillies non-tender LHP Kyle Dohy, he elected free agency (resigned to an MiLB contract on 12/1/2021)
  • 11/30/2021 – RHP Seranthony Dominguez signs a 1-year/$725K contract, avoids arbitration
  • 11/29/2021 – Phillies claimed RHP Yoan Lopez off waivers from Atlanta
  • 11/29/2021 – Phillies designated OF Roman Quinn for assignment
  • 11/24/2021 – Phillies claimed LHP Scott Moss off waivers from Cleveland
  • 11/19/2021 – Houston traded C Garrett Stubbs to Phillies for OF Logan Cerny
  • 11/19/2021 – NYY traded Nick Nelson, Donny Sands to Phillies for TJ Rumfield, Joel Valdez
  • 11/19/2021 – Phillies added to the 40-man roster by selecting the contracts of SS Luis Garcia from Jersey Shore, RHP James McArthur and RF Jhailyn Ortiz from Reading
  • 11/19/2021 – Phillies claimed LHP Kent Emanuel off waivers from Houston
  • 11/05/2021 – C Andrew Knapp, OF Odubel Herrera, SS Ronald Torreyes, RHP JD Hammer, RHP Ramon Rosso, OF Travis Jankowski elected free agency
  • 11/05/2021 – Phillies claimed LHP Ryan Sherriff off waivers from Tampa Bay
  • 11/05/2021 – Phillies sent SS Ronald Torreyes, RHP Ramon Rosso, RHP JD Hammer outright to Lehigh Valley
  • 11/05/2021 – CF Andrew McCutchen elected free agency
  • 11/03/2021 – Phillies decline Andrew McCutchen’s option
  • 11/03/2021 – Phillies decline Odubel Herrera’s option, enters third arbitration year
  • 11/03/2021 – RHP Hector Neris, RHP Archie Bradley, SS Brad Miller, LHP Matt Moore, RHP Cam Bedrosian, SS Freddy Galvis, RHP Ian Kennedy elected free agency

During the lockout, the Phillies remained active signing and releasing minor league players.  They signed their international free agent class which included players Aroon Escobar, Juan Amarante, Juan Villavicencio, and Nolan Beltran.

After the lockout was settled on March 10, 2022, the Phillies started making major league signings and moves.  Here’s a sampling of the first 15 or so.

  • 3/11/2022 – Phillies placed LHP JoJo Romero on the 60-day IL, left elbow
  • 3/15/2022 – Phillies activated LHP Brad Hand, RHP Jeurys Familia
  • 3/15/2022 – Phillies designated LHP Scott Moss for assignment
  • 3/15/2022 – Phillies signed FA LHP Brad Hand, FA RHP Jeurys Familia
  • 3/16/2022 – Phillies sent LHP Scott Moss outright to Lehigh Valley
  • 3/16/2022 – Phillies signed FA CF Odubel Herrera
  • 3/16/2022 – Pittsburgh claimed RHP Adonis Medina off waivers from Phillies
  • 3/17/2022 – Phillies designated RHP Yoan Lopez for assignment
  • 3/17/2022 – RHP Aaron Barrett assigned to Lehigh Valley
  • 3/18/2022 – Miami claimed RHP Yoan Lopez off waivers from Phillies
  • 3/20/2022 – Phillies placed LHP Kent Emanuel on the 60-day IL, left elbow impingement
  • 3/20/2022 – Phillies signed FA LF Kyle Schwarber
  • 3/21/2022 – Phillies optioned RF Jhailyn Ortiz to Reading, SS Luis Garcia to Jersey Shore
  • 3/22/2022 – Phillies designated 3B Luke Williams for assignment
  • 3/22/2022 – Phillies signed FA 3B Nick Castellanos

Important Dates

  • December 1, 2026 (11:59 p.m. ET): MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement expires.

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