Phillies manager Rob Thomson will be back in 2026, multiple sources confirmed on Monday.
There had been speculation about a managerial change since last week, when the Phillies lost to the Dodgers in the best-of-five NL Division Series. Instead, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and Thomson will address the future of the franchise — including potential changes to the roster and coaching staff — during a press conference on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.
A change felt a little like a long shot, but the Phillies have invested hundreds of millions into the payroll and key cogs like Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Zack Wheeler aren’t getting younger. So it wouldn’t have been a stunner if it had happened, either. The Phillies want to win.
Thomson, 62, has made the postseason in each of his first four years, including 2022, when he replaced Joe Girardi in June and led the Phillies to their first postseason berth since 2011 and their first NL pennant since 2009. He is one of only four managers in baseball history to make the postseason in each of his first four full seasons as manager.
Dave Roberts, Aaron Boone and Mike Matheny are the others.
But the Phillies’ postseason has ended in enormous disappointment in the three years since, despite a talented roster and a top-five payroll.
The Phillies got bounced in seven games by Arizona in the 2023 NL Championship Series, losing the final two games at Citizens Bank Park. They lost in four games to the rival Mets in the 2024 NLDS and again to the Dodgers this year. And this year, Thomson took heat for in-game decisions that backfired, including a decision to play for the tie in Game 2 and have Bryson Stott bunt with a runner on second and no outs in the ninth inning.
The Phillies are 3-10 in the postseason since they took a 2-0 lead over the Diamondbacks in the ‘23 NLCS. They are 1-5 at Citizens Bank Park.
But how much of that is on the manager? The Phillies’ offense has hit a combined .199 with a .626 OPS and has averaged only 3.2 runs per game since Game 2 of the ’23 NLCS.
Phillies relievers have a 5.58 ERA in that span.
“I love Topper, man,” Harper said. “He’s done a great job for us. I don’t know what the future holds. I have no idea. I think that’s a Dombrowski question. But obviously, you know we love Topper in here. He’s been great for us.”
Thomson’s contract runs through next season, but he knows anybody in baseball can be fired at any time for any reason.
“It’s out of my control,” he said after Game 4 last week. “I’m not even thinking about it. I’ve got 60 people in there that are brokenhearted right now. So I’m thinking about that more so than my job right now.”
By bringing back Thomson, the Phillies are saying the team’s shortcomings lie beyond the manager. That’s why changes are expected elsewhere.
The Phillies have a host of free agents, including Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Ranger Suárez, Harrison Bader (mutual option), José Alvarado (club option), Max Kepler, David Robertson and Jordan Romano. They tried to trade Alec Bohm last offseason. They tried to trade Nick Castellanos each of the past two offseasons, which might be easier this winter because he is entering the final year of a five-year, $100 million contract.
They have Andrew Painter, Justin Crawford and Aidan Miller waiting in the wings in Triple-A.
It isn’t easy to win, regardless of the talent on the roster. For argument’s sake, let’s remove the Dodgers’ 2020 pandemic-shortened World Series championship from Roberts’ résumé. He finally won a full-season World Series title last year in his eighth full season.
That’s seven NL West titles in eight years (again, excluding 2020) but only one World Series title to show for it.
What happened those other years?
Braves manager Bobby Cox led the Braves to 14 consecutive NL East titles from 1991-2005, excluding the strike-shortened ‘94 season. The Braves won only one World Series in that run.
What happened those other 13 years?
Bad managing? Or maybe other forces were at play.
