The Phillies are keeping Don Mattingly as manager on a 2-year deal

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies are keeping Don Mattingly as manager, removing his interim tag and giving him a two-year deal even after a late-season collapse nearly cost the team a playoff spot.Team president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced the move Wednesday. Mattingly led the team to a 79-55 record and a spot in the postseason after he replaced the fired Rob Thomson in late April. The Phillies nearly blew a four-game lead for a wild card in the final week of the regular season, then lost in three games to the Atlanta Braves in the NL Wild Card Series.The Phillies were 9-19 when they fired Thomson in April after he led the Phillies to four straight playoff appearances, including the 2022 World Series, and consecutive NL East titles.Dombrowski and the Phillies were rebuffed twice by former Red Sox manager Alex Cora. Dombrowski was spurned by Cora when he made the move to fire Thomson and again after the season ended, leaving him in both cases with Matti