In his end-of-season press conference lasting more than an hour, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced that the team hired former New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza as the club’s new third base and infield coach.
The move comes after the team announced it parted ways with hitting coach Kevin Long and infield coach Bobby Dickerson, who held that role since the 2022 season.
Mendoza will take over the third base coaching duties from Anthony Contreras, who will remain with the big league staff in a different role after being promoted from his position as manager of Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
The 46-year-old was fired by the Mets in June after a horrendous start to his third season at the helm. That came after a magical run to the National Championship Series in 2024 where they shockingly dispatched the Phillies in the NLDS in four games.
In his Mets’ managerial tenure Mendoza finished with a 206-199 record. .
“I knew Carlos just a little bit from him managing the Mets,” Mattingly said Thursday during his press conference via Zoom.
“Always had big respect and heard a lot of good things. You never hear really a bad word about Carlos. Talking to him, his excitement about the infield and defense was what kind of made me feel good about that side of it and his experience.”
Mendoza joins Mattingly as another former New York Yankees coach to be on the staff for the Phillies, joining Joe Giardi. Mendoza served as the bench coach for Girardi.
While Mattingly said he wasn’t the “driving force” on hiring Mendoza, the manager mentioned how Dombrowski and the front office “did their homework” on him.
Serving as a roving defensive instructor in the Yankees’ organization from 2012-17, Mendoza’s experience could prove valuable as the Phillies will look to the new coach to get Trea Turner back on track defensively.
The shortstop was tied for first in MLB with 21 errors. Dombrowski mentioned that he and the shortstop had a long conversation at the end of the season and Dombrowski said it’s “mandatory” that Turner shows improvement in the field.
“From a defensive perspective we were very clear. He knows he has to be better at shortstop. I told him that’s really mandatory. If he plays shortstop like he did in 25, he can play shortstop. If he plays shortstop like he did in 26, he can’t.”
Dombrowski also mentioned top prospects Aidan Miller and Bryan Rincon being in the fold in the organization’s long-term infield plans. However, it remains unclear how soon either prospect will be ready to contribute at the major-league level.
Their presence could add pressure on Turners, who still has seven years left on his 11-year, $300 million deal.
With Mendoza now in place, the next step for the Phillies is to find a new hitting coach. For now, the Phillies feel they made a step in the right direction to strengthen their infield defense and help Turner return to form.
Turner’s bounce back both offensively and defensively will be crucial to the team’s success next season.
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