Report says Alex Cora declined chance to replace Rob Thomson as Phillies manager

The Phillies announced Tuesday that Don Mattingly "has been named interim manager through the end of the 2026 season," following the firing of Rob Thomson.

As it turns out, that may not have been option No. 1 for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski when he decided to make a managerial change following a disastrous 9-19 star. USA Today's Bob Nightengale says the job was first offered to Alex Cora, who declined it: 

Alex Cora was offered the Philadelphia Phillies' managerial job before Don Mattingly, but declined.
He has decided to spend time with his family.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 28, 2026

Cora and much of his staff were fired by the Red Sox this past weekend, immediately leading to speculation that Dombrowski — who hired Cora in Boston and won a World Series with him in 2018 — would try to reunite with his friend. Evidently, despite it being difficult to comply with MLB diversity rules and do a full external managerial search during the season, Dombrowski did hope to hire Cora. Ultimately, Cora passed, at least for now. 

Frankly, Cora doesn't have much motivation to jump back into things right this minute. His three-year/$21.75 million deal runs through the 2027 season, so the Red Sox are still on the hook for that. It makes sense for him to just chill for the rest of the year and recharge. Maybe he won't want to get back into managing at all, but if he does, it can be at a job where he has a full offseason and Spring Training at his disposal. Right now, jumping on board a sinking ship and trying to plug the holes for the Phillies, while not impossible, would be an uphill battle. 

And so, Mattingly — who has previously managed the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins — will be the skipper for the remainder of the season. Perhaps he'll turn things around and decide he wants the job on a full-time basis. Or maybe in a few months, the Phillies will revisit things with Cora.