The Philadelphia Phillies and manager Pete Mackanin agreed to a contract back in September that would keep the 64-year-old with the team through the 2016 season. A new deal will keep him in Philly through 2017.
The two sides scrapped the old contract and signed off on the new one on Friday, the Phillies announced. Mackanin will now be guaranteed two seasons with the club and will have an option for the 2018 season.
The previous deal guaranteed him 2016 and provided an option for 2017.
#Phillies and Manager Pete Mackanin have agreed to a new 2-year contract covering the 2016 and 2017 seasons. pic.twitter.com/JkmLxiRgHp
— Phillies (@Phillies) March 25, 2016
This contract, which includes a club option for the 2018 season, replaces the contract previously signed by Mackanin last September.
— Phillies (@Phillies) March 25, 2016
Mackanin took over for Ryne Sandberg after 74 games last year and finished 37-51 with the Phillies, who were the MLB's worst team after ending the year 63-99. In 2016, Mackanin has managed Philadelphia to a 14-7-2 record during spring training in the Grapefruit League as the team hopes to further cultivate their young players this upcoming season.
"Mackanin has worked for the Phillies for six of the last seven seasons," the team said in a press release. "He served as bench coach for four seasons (2009-12) before returning as third base coach the last two years (2014-15). In between stints he worked as a pro scout for the New York Yankees in 2013. Mackanin is the eighth Phillies manager to have also played and coached for the team."
Mackanin has only served as an interim manager throughout his MLB career. In 2005, he took over for the Pittsburgh Pirates after the firing of Lloyd McClendon and went 12-14 and then succeeded Reds manager Jerry Narron and finished the 2007 season 41-39.
He'll head into his first full MLB season as a manager, and the good thing is that he won't have to worry about being asked questions about his job security since he's now guaranteed two years with the team.
While he doesn't inherit a favorable situation being that the Phillies are one of the youngest and least experienced teams in baseball, he's received rave reviews from the team's players, and the organization seemingly views him as a figure that can properly guide the ship during their rebuilding process.
