Managerial rumblings surface as the Phillies, struggling to start the season, reportedly eye Alex Cora following his unexpected firing from Boston.
On Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies fell to 9-19 with a 6-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves in front of a crowd of 39,213 at Truist Park.
Given a change of evens this weekend, the Phillies could soon make a drastic decision to jumpstart its season.
On Tuesday, before the Chicago Cubs swept the Phillies this week, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski suggested the team was not planning to fire manager Rob Thomson amid a slow start this spring.
"Put it this way. We're not," Dombrowski said, via ESPN. "But if we were, that's not something we've ever shared. Rob Thomson's been a good manager for us since [2022].
"We always look at everything that's taking place, but no. Generally, I've said about 40 games of the season is when you start to say, 'OK, where are we shaping up? Guys have had enough time.'"
The Phillies haven't hit the magic 40-game mark, but they're in last place in the National League East and 10.5 games back from the division-leading Braves.
The Boston Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora on Saturday, and that could change how Dombrowski handles a delicate situation with Thomson.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today connected Cora to the Phillies. He called it a "surprise" that Philadelphia retained Thomson after losing early in the playoffs last year. He noted Dombrowski's close relationship with Cora is a "worst-kept secret" in the MLB.
"The worst-kept secret in baseball is that Dave Dombrowski loves Cora from their days together in Boston, hiring him in 2017 and winning the World Series a year later. While Dombrowski expressed his public support of Thomson three days ago, and insisted his job is safe, Dombrowski didn’t realize Cora was about to be fired...
"Now that Cora, 50, is available, the Phillies must quickly decide whether they want to remain patient with Thomson, wait until the end of the season to determine whether they want to pivot to Cora, or do they make a move now."
The Phillies might have to make a change quickly. Nightengale thinks the New York Mets and Houston Astros could be eager to fire their managers in the hopes of landing Cora, who has won two World Series as a manager.
The Phillies appear to be going nowhere with Thomson at the helm. Cora could be a change of pace Philadelphia needs to turn the season around.