Phillies Mailbag: One Week of Don Mattingly at the Helm

We are back once again with the 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag.  Each week we take your questions and answer them on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill.  Tune in each Tuesday afternoon to hear your questions answered on the air.

What is different about Don Mattingly that the Phillies are playing so much better?
~Craig

Honestly, not a whole lot.  The Phillies are 6-1 since Don Mattingly took over for Rob Thomson just a week ago.  Sounds, pretty good, right? Well, I think it's more than simply Mattingly flipped some sort of magic switch.

First Reason: Competition is Lighter

Looking around Major League Baseball, you'd be hard-pressed to find teams playing better than the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs right now.  The two teams have the best records in the National League, playing at a .694 and .657 winning percentages, respectively.

The Phillies were faced with a very tough stretch of series against both teams back-to-back in succession.

That is not to say that the Phillies should have played better and taken some of those games.  But there was little room for mistakes.

Second Reason: Return of Zack Wheeler

The personnel on the roster got much better with the return of starter Zack Wheeler.  The move meant that the Phillies were able to move on from Taijuan Walker, who was perhaps having the worst season of his four with the Phillies.

Addition by subtraction, addition by addition.  And it helps that Wheeler has hit the ground running.  With Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery in his rear view, he is pitching like it really is behind him.

A Zack Wheeler in the rotation makes the bullpen better as they have to pitch less, and of course his results have been good so far.

Third Reason: A Chance of Atmosphere

The firing did what such a move is designed to do: create a sense of urgency for the players.  The Phillies, according to most baseball analysts, were playing below their expected output.

Psychologically, the move was a reset, and the players were left feeling responsible for the loss of their manager.

Players can get too comfortable sometimes and once the losing begins, it can get out of control fast.  Luckily, the Phillies have responded by quickly eliminating half of that 10-games below the .500 mark they accumulated.

Why don't the Phillies just move on from Rafael Marchan already?
~Pat

This is a tough one.  Rafael Marchan has clearly struggled at the plate.  Behind the plate, he is a good receiver.   That is why the Phillies opted to keep both Garrett Stubbs and Marchan for the time being once J.T. Realmuto returned from the injured list.

If the Phillies choose to remove Marchan from the active roster, he would be exposed to waivers.  And I believe he would most certainly be claimed.

Since Marchan entered the league in 2020, he has consistently ranked in the Top 10 in baseball in pop time, as demonstrated on Baseball Savant.  In 2026, he ranks eighth, one spot ahead of Realmuto.

The two of them have often graded very similarly in this regard.  In fact, in 2021, Realmuto and Marchan were 1 and 2, respectively.

Marchan has traditionally hit better than this.  Not that he tore the cover off of the ball, but he was good for at least the .210 he batted last year as the primary backup to Realmuto.

But he has not hit.

I think we are seeing one of the Phillies roster flaws here.  Traditionally, the backup catcher's hitting ability is of little concern.

But we are moving into a new era.  This is the one where J.T. Realmuto needs to play much less, or spends more time on the injured list for nagging little injuries like the most recent one that might not have occurred when he was younger.

And right now without Stubbs or Marchan the organization will not have the depth they need.

The Phillies will need to find a new catcher who can be prepared to play more.  I do not know who that is right now, so until then, it's good to keep them both around.

Is there anything the Phillies can do about the offense?  Why is Felix Reyes still here?
~Bill

It was sure exciting to see Felix Reyes hit a home run off of Chris Sale in his first big league at bat.  But since then, he has not done a lot.  I think that it is fair to say that Reyes should return to Triple-A to accomplish two things: learn left field and get some regular at bats.

I believe that it is clear that Brandon Marsh is now a starter.  That means there is no need for a left field platoon, anyway.  That would free up the roster spot Reyes is occupying.

So what can the Phillies do?

About a month ago, the Phillies made a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire outfielder Steward Berroa.  Call him up, Phillies.

Berroa is a switch-hitting outfielder who has primarily played center field at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  He is batting .269 with a solid .825 OPS. He has three home runs, 12 RBI, and has stolen six bases.

With Marsh in left, Berroa is a right-handed option for center field for Justin Crawford.  And, it would alleviate the possibility of Adolis Garcia in center field (or Marsh, honestly).

So I think that given the way the roster is shaped, Berroa makes more sense for the Phillies right now.   That's not to say Reyes might not come back and contribute in a meaningful way later.  But the Phillies need outfield help.