The Philadelphia Phillies needed to make some changes this offseason, as they couldn't run it back again with how disappointing things have gone the last few years.

But the Phillies decided to hire interim manager Don Mattingly to be their full-time manager for the next two years. However, he wasn't necessarily their first choice.

According to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, the Phillies actually reached out to see if beloved franchise legend Chase Utley, along with former Phillie Raul Ibanez, to see if either would come on as the Phillies' new manager.

Phillies tried hiring Chase Utley to be new manager before Don Mattingly decision

"Before the Philadelphia Phillies finalized their decision to rehire Don Mattingly as their manager, they reached out to Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez, two high-profile names from their recent past, to gauge their interest in the job," Stark writes.

This is a very interesting report from Stark, as hearing that the Phillies could've had Ibanez or Utley take over as the new manager is very interesting.

Of course, with the news that Mattingly was hired, it should come as little surprise that Stark is reporting that both Utley and Ibanez "politely declined" the opportunity to be the Phillies' manager.

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Both former Phillies players are currently working for the Dodgers, so the Phillies had to reach out to the team to show real interest in bringing either of them in to be their new manager.

While neither joined, the Phillies' interest in Utley and Ibanez was real, and if they were interested, either former player could've wound up becoming the team's manager for the 2027 season and beyond.

Maybe in the future, one or the other could take on a manager job with the Phillies. But for now, they're handing the keys back over to Mattingly, giving him another chance with this Phillies team to make a deep playoff run.

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