The Miami Marlins and Don Mattingly have agreed this will be his last season as manager of the team. Come home to the Bronx, Don. The Yankees need you.
After seven years managing the Miami Marlins, Don Mattingly is going to be moving on.
On Sunday morning, Craig Mish and Jordan McPherson reported that Mattingly and the Marlins have mutually agreed that this will be his last season managing the team.
Mattingly, in his seven years, led the team to the playoffs just once in 2020. Overall, he has a winning percentage of .428 as of Sunday morning.
The Marlins sit well outside the playoff picture this season.
Don Mattingly’s availability could pave the way for him to come home to New York Yankees
Most New York Yankees fans have been clamoring for a change in the managerial position for the last few years. Aaron Boone has served as Brian Cashman’s mouthpiece and has made questionable decisions year after year. Unfortunately for fans who want to see a new leader, a change there would be quite drastic since Boone just signed a 3-year contract extension keeping him with the team through 2024 (subscription required).
While this writer believes the issues are at the top with ownership — George Steinbrenner’s son, Hal, doesn’t spend for wins the same way his dad was willing to — a managerial change could help inject a new fire into the team.
Mattingly was never given all the pieces needed in Miami, but a quick look at his time managing the Los Angeles Dodgers gets one a bit more fired up for what he could do.
Mattingly posted a .556 winning percentage with the Dodgers, taking them to the playoffs three times and all the way to the championship series once. The Dodgers’ recent World Series appearances were led by Dave Roberts, though, not Mattingly.
Mattingly as a player spent his entire 14-year career in the Bronx. He won an MVP, was a six-time All-Star, won several Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers, among other accolades and accomplishments. Unfortunately, his time in New York was underscored by being on bad teams. It wasn’t until the end of his career that the Yankees dynasty of the 90s and 2000s began, and Mattingly never won a World Series. He did get a postseason appearance finally in 1995, his last year in the majors.
Mattingly coming back to lead the Yankees as a manager would be oh-so-sweet for long-time Yankee fans. Since Boone is under contract for the foreseeable future, though, Mattingly coming back as a coach of some sort would be more likely in between management positions. Mattingly would need to be open to that, though, and may have more attractive offers on the table this offseason, if he wants to keep working at all.
Mattingly in a coaching position would still be great and not unlike other recent moves. The Yankees swooped up Luis Rojas this offseason as a third-base coach after he was fired by the New York Mets.
If nothing else, having both Rojas and Mattingly on the coaching bench would give the Yankees some fallback options if they need to make a drastic mid-season management adjustment. Also, Boone gets ejected frequently, so having some skilled managers picking up the slack when he heads to the clubhouse early would be helpful.