The Phillies put an end to their managerial search when they promoted interim skipper Don Mattingly to the full-time role on Wednesday. They showed interest in ex-Red Sox manager Alex Cora during the process, but he wasn’t the only outside candidate on their radar. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski formally requested permission to contact Dodgers employees Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez about the job, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reports. The two former Phillies “politely declined,” according to Stark.
Utley, who is in his first year as a special assistant to Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, ranks as one of the greatest Phillies of all-time. During a run that lasted from 2003-15, the former second baseman racked up 62.0 bWAR – trailing only legendary third baseman Mike Schmidt among Phillies hitters – and earned six All-Star nods. Utley also helped lead the Phillies to a pair of National League pennants and a World Series title (2008). He spent the last three-plus years of his career with the Dodgers, who acquired him in 2015 swap, and became a Phillies Wall of Fame member this August.
Asked about the Phillies’ interest in reuniting with him as a manager, the 47-year-old Utley told Stark: “Regardless if that (Phillies report) is true or not … considering where I’m currently at with my family, that commitment (to a job like managing) is not really realistic at the moment.”
Ibanez seemed more open to returning to Philadelphia than Utley, as the longtime outfielder took a couple of days to think it over before calling Dombrowski to inform him he was staying with Los Angeles, according to Stark. A member of the Phillies from 2009-11, Ibanez retired after the 2014 campaign and immediately began drawing managerial interest. He was one of the finalists for the Rays’ job that fall, but they hired Kevin Cash instead. Cash is still in place in Tampa Bay, while the 54-year-old Ibanez has held positions with the Dodgers, ESPN and Major League Baseball over the past decade-plus. He has worked as the Dodgers’ vice president of baseball development and special projects since 2024.
With Cora planning a year off and Utley and Ibanez remaining with the Dodgers, the Phillies will continue to roll with Mattingly. After taking over for the fired Rob Thomson on April 28, Mattingly guided the Phillies to a 79-55 mark. Philadelphia finished 88-74 and earned a fifth straight playoff berth, but the team could not get past NL East rival Atlanta in a three-game Wild Card series that went the distance.
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