Who will be the next Phillies manager? Not this World Series winner
· Yahoo Sports
For the second time this year, Alex Cora said no to the Philadelphia Phillies.
The former Boston Red Sox manager informed Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski that he was interested in taking the job in Philly for the 2027 season and instead would be taking off the entire season, a high-ranking Phillies executive with direct knowledge of their talks told USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale on Oct. 6.
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The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Phillies still have not decided who will manage their team, Nightengale reported.
Now the Phillies managerial job is even more wide open after much speculation that Cora would take the job after former New York Yankees great Don Mattingly led the team to a 79-55 record following the dismissal of Rob Thomson in April.
Who is Alex Cora?
Cora, a former MLB infielder who played for six teams during 14-year career, was fired by Boston early in the 2026 season after the team got off to a slow start. He spent eight years as the Red Sox manager, complying a 620-541 record (.534 winning percentage).
During his first year as manager in 2018, Cora and Dombrowski helped guide Boston to a World Series title.
Before Mattingly was named interim manager, Cora was offered the job but he declined, saying he wanted to spend the rest of the summer with his family.
By declining the offer again, Cora, 50, will continue to collect about $7.25 million from the Red Sox in 2027 as the third and final year of his three-year, $21.75 million contract.
Despite his success, Cora was suspended for the 2020 season due to his involved in the Houston Astros illegal sign-stealing efforts while he was a bench coach for the team during their 2017 World Series-title run.
Phillies manager candidates
While it's uncertain whether there will even be a season in 2027 with an expected work stoppage looming, who will manager the Phillies next also will be in question.
As of now, there are no reported or rumored candidates after Cora declined the Phillies offer again.
So as of now, the Phillies could remove the interim tag from Mattingly's job title and hand him the job or start a new managerial search. Mattingly, 65, is under contract through 2027 as the team's bench coach.
Mattingly helped turn the team around after a 9-19 start, leading the Phils to a 88-74 record and a wild-card berth as the Philadelphia reached the postseason for the franchise-tying record fifth straight season.
However, the team was bounced by the divisional-rival Atlanta Braves in the National League Wild-Card round after stumbling down the stretch with a 9-14 record.
Don Mattingly managerial record
In replacing Thomson, Mattingly becomes the 58th manager in Phillies history.
The Yankees legend has been a manager or coach since retiring, including coaching stints with the Yankees (2004-07) and Dodgers (2008-10) before serving as manager for the Dodgers (2011-15) and Marlins (2016-22). He was 2020 NL Manager of the Year after guiding the Marlins to their first postseason berth in 17 years.
Mattingly said Dec. 5 that he had no interest in managing again because of that job's time-consuming duties.
Why did the Phillies fire Thomson?
The firing came after the Phillies got off to a horrific start to the season.
The Phillies opened the season as expected contenders for the NL East division title and potentially a World Series title. However, things went sideways quickly.
At the time of his firing, Philadelphia was tied for the worst record in baseball at 9-19 after losing 13 of their last 15 games.
When was Rob Thomson hired?
Thomson was named the Phillies manager on June 3, 2022, when Joe Girardi was fired after the Phillies started the season 22-29. Thomson then guided the team to a 65-46 record the rest of the season and reached the World Series as a wild card team. The Phillies have made the postseason every year Thomson has been at the helm and won the last two division titles.
This is the fourth time in the last 13 years that the Phillies have fired their manager midseason. Charlie Manuel was fired 120 games into the 2013 and replaced with Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg was relieved 74 games into the 2015 season and replaced with Pete Mackanin.
The Phillies have made a move even earlier in a season. Nick Leyva was fired just 11 games into the 1991 season. He had managed the Phils to a combined 144-180 record over the previous two seasons. Jim Fregosi took over and led the Phillies through the 1996 season, a stretch that included a World Series appearance in 1993.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Who will be the next Phillies manager? Not this World Series winner