Pete Mackanin took over as interim manager for the Philadelphia Phillies when Ryne Sandberg resigned in late June. Rumors have been floating around for a good while now regarding Mackanin's future with the team, and the Phillies put that to an end on Tuesday.
Philadelphia extended the contract of Mackanin through the 2016 season and also gave him a club option for 2017, according to the team's Twitter account.
#Phillies have extended the contract of Pete Mackanin as manager through the 2016 season. The extension includes a club option for 2017.
— Phillies (@Phillies) September 22, 2015
This season marked Mackanin's third interim manager job since 2005. The 64-year-old has never been granted the opportunity to manage a team beyond a temporary position until now. The Pittsburgh Pirates hired Lloyd McClendon over Mackanin after the 2005 season and the Cincinnati Reds chose Dusty Baker over him after the 2007 season.
Mackanin is 30-46 since taking over for Sandberg and it's been said he has rejuvenated the team and developed good relationships with its young players. He was the club's manager when the Phillies promoted a number of their top prospects, so he's been an instrumental figure in regards to the initial stages of their development at the MLB level.
"The Phillies are pleased that Pete has accepted the position of manager for the 2016 season," incoming team president Andy MacPhail said in a prepared statement released by the team, via Jake Kaplan of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
"We believe that Pete is the best fit for the role. Since assuming the interim manager position in June, Pete has developed an excellent rapport with our players and has also connected well with the media and our fans. Equally as important is his eagerness to take on the challenge of rebuilding the team and further developing our players. We look forward to his contributions."
Mackanin is now officially the 53rd manager in Phillies' history after rumors suggested last week that he had a chance to remain manager beyond the 2015 season.
The next step for MacPhail is to hire a new general manager after the team dismissed Ruben Amaro earlier this season.
