Phillies

12 Takeaways from Dave Dombrowski and Don Mattingly’s End of Season Press Conferences

By Luke Arcaini

Published: Oct 15th, 2026 · 1:31 PM EDT

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Dave Dombrowski addressed the media on Thursday morning at Citizens Bank Park, and spoke for over an hour. Don Mattingly proceeded to meet with the media via Zoom.

For the first time in a while, there felt like some serious urgency from Dombrowski. Here’s everything you need to know from Thursday morning’s meetings:

1) Phillies Hire Carlos Mendoza as Infield/Third Base Coach

Former Mets manager Carlos Mendoza will join Don Mattingly’s coaching staff for the 2027 season, announced by Dombrowski at the beginning of his press conference. After firing hitting coach Kevin Long and infield coach Bobby Dickerson on Wednesday, the Phillies will look to improve fundamentals, approach, and more. The team is still looking for their new hitting coach, and that hire seems like it will come out of house.

2) Trea Turner is Not the Guaranteed Shortstop in 2027

I thought Dombrowski showed the most urgency with Trea Turner on Thursday during his press conference. Dombrowski said he and Turner met last week at Citizens Bank Park for a couple hours. Dombrowski, along with Turner, acknowledged that his 2027 season was not good enough, offensively or defensively.

Turner struggled again defensively in 2026 after finding his stride again in 2025.

Dombrowski on that:

“From a defensive perspective, we were very clear. He knows he has to be better at shortstop, and I told him that, it’s really mandatory that he’s like that. He feels he can play, and if he plays shortstop like he did in 2025, he can play shortstop. But if he plays it like he did in 2026, he can’t. And he totally understands that. We’ve already given him some information ourselves that we think could be helpful. Of course, Carlos Mendoza will be responsible for working with him.”

Is this the best plan for the Phillies? If Turner is going to play a different position in 2027, the ideal situation would be giving him the most time possible this offseason. But I thought Dombrowski’s comments were also extremely telling. He did not like the way Turner played in 2026, and he’s ready to make a change if he feels it’s needed, which is the first time he’s really said that since Turner has been acquired.

3) Tim Mayza Returns on One-Year MLB Contract

Although the details have not been announced, Dombrowski noted that the Phillies and Tim Mayza agreed on a 1-year Major League contract to return in 2027. Mayza was the most trusted all-around lefty bullpen arm this past season, tallying a 3.48 ERA with 64 strikeouts and a 1.13 WHIP in 67.1 innings.

4) Don Mattingly Agreed to Return to Phillies on Saturday

Dombrowski noted that Mattingly agreed to return to the Phillies as manager on Saturday. Mattingly had a vacation planned with family, and Dombrowski noted that they didn’t want to make the announcement around the same time as the Eagles game in London, so they waited until the middle of the week to announce it.

5) High Praise of Aidan Miller

Aidan Miller would’ve played in the majors at some point in 2026 if the back injury never happened, Dombrowski said. The Phillies are extremely high on Miller, and believe that he can make a serious impact in the 2027 season. That could be at third base, shortstop (if Turner is moved off of the position), or second base.

6) Bryce Harper Will Return to First Base

Bryce Harper will be the first baseman in 2027. Harper and Dombrowski met for a few hours last week and talked through the season, 2027, and more. Harper said he is willing to go back to the outfield some days to give some guys days off, maneuver the defense more, etc. But Harper’s main position in 2027 will be back at first base.

7) The Bullpen

Dombrowski acknowledged that the Phillies bullpen was not good enough in the postseason or down the stretch of the regular season, but did cite injuries as a factor. They were excited for Caleb Killian, who only ended up throwing a few games. The injury to Jonathan Bowlan hurt them, along with the early-season injury to Brad Keller.

Dombrowski acknowledged that they have to get better from the left side specifically. He admitted that Brooks Raley had a bad stretch with the Phillies, which is unfortunate, because it was a good move when they made it at the trade deadline. Alex McFarlane, Jhoan Duran, Bowlan, and more are guys that the Phillies can trust to get big outs in the future.

8) A New Hitting Philosophy?

Dombrowski acknowledged that they’re excited for new ideas with their new hitting coach who has yet to be hired. The Phillies’ analytics department has done a good job from a pitching perspective, but Dombrowski admitted that they want to dive more into the hitting side and continue to figure out why the offense continues to be so up and down.

9) Rare Brutal Honesty

While Dombrowski was honest about Turner’s 2026 season, that wasn’t the only player that Dombrowski talked on. He said Brandon Marsh has to be better than he was in the 2nd half. He noted that Justin Crawford will continue to improve, but they need to see more from him.

I keep falling back on the urgency that I heard from Dombrowski, which is something that has lacked over the last few end of season press conferences.

10) Limiting JT Realmuto’s Workload

Dombrowski talked to JT Realmuto on the phone, and Realmuto told Dombrowski that he has to be better moving forward. Realmuto noted that physically, this is one of the best he’s ever felt. But he’s fully open to days off of his feet in 2027, whether that’s days on the bench, at DH, or even at first base.

Dombrowski spoke on the Phillies carrying three catchers, and noted that while Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchan were both good defensively, they lacked offensive production.

If the Phillies want to get Realmuto more frequent time off, they’re going to have to find a backup catcher that can take down 50-60 games a year.

11) Mattingly Was Not a Driving Force in the Hiring of Carlos Mendoza

Don Mattingly admitted on his Zoom availability that although he is excited to work with Mendoza, he was not the “driving force” in the hiring, as that was more a front office decision.

12) Mattingly Ready to Enforce His Ways and Ideas

When you take over a team mid-season, it’s not really “your team,” and Mattingly admitted that. Heading into the 2027 season, Mattingly wants to enforce the fundamentals to try and get the Phillies to the level of some of the teams remaining. If you watch a team like the Brewers or Rays, who are still in the postseason, they do all of the little things right; base running, defense, baseball IQ, etc. Mattingly said the Phillies need to improve all of those aspects that don’t always show up in the box score.