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The Phillies Fired Rob Thomson
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
Rob Thomson is out as Phillies manager, officially announced in a statement.
Along with the firing of Thomson, the team announced other changes:
- Don Mattingly will take over as interim manager
- Dusty Wathan was promoted to bench coach
- Anthony Contreras, manager of the IronPigs, was promoted to Phillies third base coach
- Chris Adamson, Lehigh Valley’s bench coach, has been elevated to manager of the IronPigs.
The Phillies are 9-19. They aren’t hitting, they aren’t pitching, and they aren’t playing good defense. Something needed to change… but how much will this change the team?
Joe Girardi was fired in 2022 after a 22-29 start, and Rob Thomson was part of the spark that brought the Phillies to their first World Series appearance since 2009. Could this wake up the team? Absolutely, we saw that happen just four years ago.
But Thomson was failed by roster construction over the last three seasons. Sure, he hasn’t been perfect. His biggest critique from the fanbase was lineup construction, but when only 2 of the 13 hitters on your roster to start the year are hitting the baseball consistently, the lineup simply just doesn’t matter. It comes down to player execution.
Thomson finishes his Phillies managerial career with a 355-270 regular season record and a .568 winning percentage, which is one of the best by a Phillies manager in the history of the team.
Something had to be done. The Phillies had World Series aspirations coming into 2026, and through 28 games they’ve been the worst team in baseball. Maybe this will flip the script, and maybe it won’t, we don’t know the answer. But John Middleton couldn’t sit on his hands any longer.
Luke Arcaini covers the Phillies for Crossing Broad. The wave is the worst thing is sports. Follow him on Twitter @ArcainiLuke