Rob Thomson, who led the Phillies to four straight playoff appearances, including the 2022 World Series, was fired as the team’s manager on Tuesday after Philadelphia lost 11 of 12 games and began the day tied for last place in the majors.
Bench coach Don Mattingly was named interim manager through the end of the season and third-base coach Dusty Wathan was promoted to bench coach.
Thomson went 355-270 and had led a Phillies team loaded with high-priced talent that included Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner to consecutive division titles. The 62-year-old Thomson, a baseball lifer finally promoted to his first managerial post in 2022, signed a contract extension in the offseason running through the 2027 season and was again expected to lead the Phillies into World Series contention.
Instead, the Phillies and their $300m-plus payroll have been one of the biggest flops in baseball this season and had lost 10 straight games until ace Zack Wheeler led them to a win against Atlanta on Saturday. The Phillies lost to Atlanta on Sunday and fell to 9-19 overall, tied with divisional rival New York Mets, another big spending team suffering through a dry spell.
Thomson is the second manager fired in baseball this season after the Red Sox parted ways with Alex Cora and five coaches on Saturday.
Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies’ president of baseball operations, gave Thomson a vote of confidence last week while they were in the midst of their losing streak. Dombrowski stood behind Thomson’s work and said he’s been a good manager since replacing Joe Girardi in 2022.
Thomson led Philadelphia to the 2022 World Series after taking over for Girardi, losing to the Houston Astros in six games. Since then, the club has regressed in the postseason. It lost in the NL Championship Series in 2023 in seven games, and the NL Division Series in 2024 and ’25 in four games.
The Phillies have been awful in what was supposed to be a celebratory season with the franchise set to host the All-Star Game. They’ve collapsed in every aspect of the game, with regulars Alec Bohm and Schwarber hitting under .200, while starters Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter have posted 5.00-plus ERAs.
The Phillies just released high-priced bust Taijuan Walker in the final year of a four-year, $72m contract and let go outfielder Nick Castellanos in February as he entered the final year of a five-year, $100m deal.
The Phillies haven’t won the World Series since 2008.
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