Just one season removed from winning back-to-back division titles, the Philadelphia Phillies are completely falling apart. A miserable 9-19 start (now 10-19) isn’t just a slump; it’s a crisis, and the front office felt it was time to make a major change. With that, they officially put an end to the Rob Thomson era.
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“The Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson, sources told The Athletic,” Phillies beat writer Matt Gelb reported this first.
This not only adds to the recent crushing memory of the Boston Red Sox firing Alex Cora, but also the 2022 Phillies.
Owing to a 22-29 start to the season, the front office fired Joe Girardi and named bench coach Rob Thomson the manager. In his first game, the Phillies won 10-0 against the Los Angeles Angels. And aligning with the president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski’s expectations, they made it to the playoffs with an 87-75 record, and even appeared in the World Series, but lost to the Houston Astros.
But now, Thomson’s three consecutive 90-win seasons didn’t matter to the front office, given their 10-game losing streak, the franchise’s longest since 1999. But reportedly, Thomson has no ill feelings.
“Dave and I have a close relationship, but that doesn’t stand in the way for him doing the right thing for the organization. I respect that,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale quoted the ex-manager.
Per Nightengale, Thomson has clarified that he “wants to stay with the Phillies organization when the time is right.”
Now, just repeating the 2022 cycle, ex-Yankee All-Star and current bench coach Don Mattingly has been promoted as the interim manager for the rest of the season. Mattingly is their 6th manager since firing 2008 World Series manager Charlie Manuel in 2013. Guess another interesting fact in this whole saga!
Rob Thomson joined Philadelphia from the New York Yankees, following his 2017 bench coach season.
The team also lost 11 of its last 12 games before the firing was made official. For a team boasting a $300 million payroll, getting outscored this badly, highlighted by a league-worst minus-54 run differential, is simply unacceptable. Now, the Phillies are stuck at the very bottom of the standings, tied with the New York Mets.
The Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson, sources told The Athletic. Don Mattingly will be interim manager.
Following the change, the Phillies shuffled their coaching staff.
Dusty Wathan was promoted from third base coach to the bench coach. Anthony Contreras joined the major league staff as the new third base coach. Chris Adamson was promoted to manage the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. With these in-house hires, the front office made it clear they wanted continuity over outside replacements.
The Phillies even looked at Alex Cora before settling on Mattingly.
According to Bob Nightengale, the Phillies actually offered Cora the job. However, he turned it down to spend time with his family, leaving Mattingly as the clear choice to step in.
While just hours after the firing, the club recorded a shutout win against the San Francisco Giants (7-0), was the Phillies’ slump really only Rob Thomson’s fault?
After winning 96 games in 2025, the team completely fell apart this year. The Phillies are currently 29th in the league in batting average and 28th in ERA. Even the Colorado Rockies have a better record.
Philadelphia went 1-6 in a week that included a four-game sweep by the Chicago Cubs. They also dropped two of three games against the Atlanta Braves. Even with Zack Wheeler‘s return, the team could not compete in the league.
The front office, led by Dave Dombrowski, failed to improve the roster significantly during the offseason.
The Phillies pursued Bo Bichette but could not get the deal done. Adding to that, they lost key players like Ranger Suárez and Harrison Bader to free agency. While Philadelphia made some additions like Adolis García and Brad Keller, they seem more like a downgrade for the team right now.
At the same time, Thomson didn’t sit idle during this difficult stretch.
He used 21 different batting orders in 28 games, trying to create a spark. The offense often relied only on the top three hitters.
The pitching hasn’t helped, either.
Aaron Nola was supposed to anchor the rotation while Wheeler was out, but his ERA is over 6.00. Across 31.1 innings, he has allowed one run or fewer in just a single start.
While Thomson holds himself “accountable” after the firing, the players are also guilty for what happened.
“We all feel responsible for what happened to him. We know we are the ones on the field not doing our job,” JT Realmuto remarked.
But was it the right move?
Is Don Mattingly replacing Rob Thomson the right choice for the Phillies?
Back in December, Mattingly had revealed having no interest in managing. But “because Dave asked,” he took the job.
With the Phillies GM, Preston, being Don Mattingly’s son, the change might actually pay off for the team.
Mattingly takes over as interim manager with 12 years of experience. He knows how to handle the pressure of winning, guiding the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 446-363 record during his five years there. He led the team to three straight division titles, winning over 90 games each year.
Despite the postseason exits, his teams won over 55% of their games. That’s a massive upgrade over the Phillies’ current .321 win percentage.
Mattingly has already managed stars like Clayton Kershaw during his Cy Young-level seasons. With that under his belt, the Phillies believe that he might be able to take over the Phillies clubhouse. And we saw a glimpse of it on Tuesday when the Phillies won just the second time in their last 13 games.
Trea Turner went 4-for-5 with two runs for the Philadelphia Phillies, while Adolis Garcia drove in two runs. Jesus Luzardo (2-3) took care of the rest, striking out eight without a walk, allowing only two hits over seven innings.
Mattingly has proven he can handle a struggling team.
He spent seven seasons rebuilding the Miami Marlins, even winning NL Manager of the Year in 2020 after sneaking them into the playoffs. It was their first postseason berth in 17 years.
His career 889–950 record reflects experience managing both contending teams and those in a rebuilding phase.
Don Mattingly provides a different voice from Thomson, whose message may have lost impact during this slump. If the Phillies respond as expected, the improvement toward .500 remains realistic based on Mattingly’s record.
