The Phillies Room: October 2026 Notes

2026 Topps Now #743

October 14 - Mattingly Named Manager:  Don Mattingly had the interim tag removed, and the Phillies signed him to a two-year contract for the 2027 and 2028 seasons.  It would appear as if Mattingly was the team's fourth choice as manager, following reports they had attempted to recruit Alex Cora, Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley, with all three declining.

October 15 - Coaching Shuffle:  There was nothing official on this date, but reports emerged that infield coach Bobby Dickerson and hitting coach Kevin Long had been fired.  Dickerson coached with the Phillies in 2019, went to the Padres for two seasons, and returned to the Phillies in 2022.  Long had been the hitting coach since 2022 as well.  It makes sense for the team to move on from these two coaches, as both the hitting and infield defense strategies have been under scrutiny the past few seasons.

In his postseason press conference, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski revealed Carlos Mendoza would be joining the team's coaching staff as the new third base and infield coach.  Current third base coach Anthony Contreras will remain on the coaching staff in a different role.  Mendoza was fired earlier this year from the Mets' manager role, and in 2 1/2 seasons, he guided the Mets to a 206-199 record.  The Mendoza hiring was officially announced on October 16th.

October 16 - Mayza Re-signed:  Tim Mayza (lhp) was re-signed to a one-year deal, worth $2.75 million.  Mayza was one of the club's more reliable relievers in 2026, appearing in 60 games and earning a 3.48 ERA over 67 1/3 innings pitched.

October 27 - New Hitting Coaches:  Peter Fatse was named the team's new hitting coach, and he's bringing Joe Cronin with him as an assistant hitting coach.  While Edwar Gonzalez will stick around as the other assistant hitting coach, Rafael Pena will not.  Both Fatse and Cronin were dismissed by the Red Sox when manager Alex Cora was fired early in the 2026 season.  Pena had been on the Phillies' big league coaching staff since 2024.  Fatse, who was in the Brewers' organization for two seasons in 2008 and 2009, only has a pair of minor league baseball cards to his name from 2010.  Cronin has three minor league baseball cards, issued between 2018 and 2022.

October 29 - Free Agency Begins:  Seven Phillies became free agents the morning after the Brewers won their first World Championship on October 28th.  Jose Alvarado (lhp) Luis Arraez (2b), Alec Bohm (3b-1b), Nestor Cortes (lhp), Adolis Garcia (of), Brooks Raley (lhp) and Edmundo Sosa (inf-of) will look to latch on elsewhere for the 2027 season, although there's an outside chance Arraez, Bohm or Sosa could return.  

There were also quite a few minor leaguers who are now free agents, including:  Andrew Bechtold (rhp), Steward Berroa (of), Tucker Davidson (lhp), Brian Keller (rhp), Mark Kolozsvary (c), Michael Mercado (rhp), Dylan Moore (inf), Daniel Robert (rhp) and Lou Trivino III (rhp).