Bringing The Band Back Together: Don Mattingly, Ned Colletti To Return

It looks like the new ownership group of the Dodgers doesn't plan on any type of management regime change anytime soon, as both general manager Ned Colletti and manager Don Mattingly will be back for at least next season, per multiple reports.

Colletti has a deal in place to return to the Dodgers, reported Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Colletti had mutual options after this season per Heyman, but a new deal locks Colletti in place for the foreseeable future. This season is Colletti's eighth with the Dodgers, the longest general manager tenure for the franchise since Fred Claire held the position from 1987-1998.

Colletti will retain Mattingly as manager for next season as well, the final year of Mattingly's contract, ending any speculation that Mattingly could be fired if the Dodgers miss the playoffs. The team is 7-12 since making the nine-player blockbuster trade with the Red Sox on Aug. 25.

"I think he's done a really good job of keeping it together and there's never an excuse. He doesn't give any and he doesn't take any," Colletti told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles. "I don't have any doubt that our efforts every day are there, and I think that's one of the main jobs of a manager, to make sure guys are into it."

We can debate the merits of both Colletti and Mattingly in their respective roles, but given the changing landscape of operating under a much larger budget under the new ownership group, the expectations going forward will, and should, be high. But for now there is something to be said for organizational stability, as we saw in 2005 how corrosive a dysfunctional management relationship could be.