The Philadelphia Phillies have made a major move with manager Rob Thomson.
The Philadelphia Phillies have been busy on Tuesday. First, the Phillies re-signed Kyle Schwarber on a five-year, $150 million contract extension. Then, they made a major move with manager Rob Thomson.
The Phillies have announced that they have signed Thomson to an extension through the 2027 season, putting an end to speculation that he was on the hot seat following yet another disappointing playoff exit.
Thomson took over as Phillies manager midway through 2022 following the firing of Joe Girardi. Philadelphia was 22-29 at the time of Girardi's dismissal and then went 65-46 the rest of the way, advancing all the way to the World Series.
Thomson had previously been serving as Phillies bench coach since 2018 prior to being named the manager. He had initially been serving in an interim managerial role, but was so impressive during his trial run that Philadelphia made him the full-time skipper for 2023.
The 62-year-old has gone 346-251 overall as Phillies manager, leading the team to the playoffs in all four of his seasons. Philadelphia has also captured back-to-back NL East division titles.
However, frustration has been growing in Philly the last couple of years. The Phillies have won 95-plus games in each of the last two campaigns, but were bounced from the NLDS both seasons.
For a roster as talented as Philadelphia's, the Phillies' playoff disappointments have widely been viewed as unacceptable, and many have pointed the finger at Thomson.
But clearly, Dave Dombrowski and the rest of Philadelphia's front office feel a bit differently.
Now, this obviously does not guarantee that Thomson will remain the manager through 2027. If the Phillies fall flat in 2026, he could absolutely lose his job.
However, it certainly seems like a vote of confidence from the organization.
It will now be interesting to see what Philadelphia does the rest of the offseason. The Phillies don't seem overly eager to spend too much money, so now that they re-signed Schwarber, they may have relatively limited funds available to improve elsewhere.
The Phillies still need to figure out their catcher situation with J.T. Realmuto also a free agent, and they definitely need to beef up their squad in general for a deeper postseason run.
We'll see what happens.