LOS ANGELES — Phillies manager Rob Thomson had everything on his mind, except himself.
The Phillies’ season ended Thursday with a 2-1 walk-off loss to the Dodgers in 11 innings in Game 4 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium. The Phils took a 1-0 lead in the seventh, but they had just four hits the entire game and did not score again. They lost when Orion Kerkering booted a ground ball to the mound and then threw the ball over J.T. Realmuto’s head at home plate to allow the winning run to score.
“I mean, when this happens, it’s like your entire world comes to a stop,” Thomson said about the season-ending loss. “It’s just a thud. It’s just not a good feeling. It really isn’t. Especially, regular season we were really good. We had a lot of wins. We expected a lot more.”
It has become a familiar October story for the Phillies. They won the NL pennant in 2022, but they have not returned to the World Series since.
They lost in the 2023 NLCS. They lost in the NLDS each of the past two seasons.
“Do I?” Thomson said, asked if he expects to manage the Phillies next season. “Again, it’s out of my control. 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.”
Thomson took heat this series for moves that didn’t work, particularly in Games 1 and 2. But his pitching plan with Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez worked to near perfection in Game 3.
“I love Topper, man,” Bryce 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 [general manager Dave] Dombrowski question. But obviously, you know we love Topper in here. He’s been great for us.
“I know fans are upset. I know the city’s upset. Obviously, it’s warranted. You know we’re upset in here as well. Our daily life is Philly baseball. This is our family in here. That’s what we do. We want to win for, you know, not just ourselves, but for everybody that watches us play as a fan base and everything else. So I understand what they’re going through. … Obviously I want to hold that trophy. That’s the goal every single time you get into Spring Training.”
The Phillies will enter the offseason with pressing issues. They have key free agents like Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Suárez. There are other potential free agents like Harrison Bader (mutual option) and José Alvarado (club option).
Not everybody will be back.
“I’m not here to talk about free agency,” Realmuto said. “I’m thinking about losing a baseball game. That’s what it feels like right now. The last thing I’m thinking about is next year. If you want to ask me about this series or my teammates, let’s do that. I haven’t thought about next year.”
Suárez remained in the Phillies’ dugout long after the game ended. He was one of the last players to leave.
He has been with the Phillies since he signed with them as a teenager out of Venezuela. He is 30 now.
“I don’t want it to be the last year with the team,” Suárez said through the team’s interpreter. “But it’s not up to me right now.”
Schwarber hopes to return. It is believed the Phillies will do everything they can to re-sign him.
He is a huge presence in the batter’s box, but also in the clubhouse.
“These guys all know how I feel about them,” Schwarber said.
Nick Castellanos is not a free agent, but the Phillies have looked to move him each of the past two offseasons. He will be entering the final season of a five-year, $100 million contract.
He struggled this year, moving into a reserve role. Castellanos got benched in June in Miami for comments that he made to Thomson after being removed from a game. They met again in September in Arizona after Castellanos expressed a lack of communication with Thomson about his role.
Asked if he would accept that role next year or want a change of scenery, Castellanos said, “Right now where I’m at, I’m going to get some imaging on my [left] knee, rest, then clean that up and then just go from there. So first things first.”
But there are more than just free-agent decisions to make. There is roster construction.
Does this offense need a shakeup?
These things will be decided in the coming months.
“You could look at it any way you want, from numbers, payroll, pitching, bullpen, offense,” Trea Turner said. “We got it all. It’s not always the roster or the talent or all that. It’s who plays the best this time of year. And we just haven’t gotten it done. Are we capable? 100 percent.”
“Personally, I’m gonna work my butt off this offseason and get ready for next year, and obviously, hopefully take another swing at it and see what we can do,” Harper said.
