A shocking managerial shift ignites the Philadelphia Phillies. Don Mattingly steps in as interim manager following Rob Thomson's sudden departure amidst a struggling season.
A week after Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski defended manager Rob Thomson amid a slow start to the regular season, the team had decided to go in a different direction.
The Phillies are 9-19 before starting a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday. Philadelphia is tied with the New York Mets for last place in the National League East, trailing the Atlanta Braves 10.5 games.
Per Matt Gelb of The Athletic, the Phillies fired Thomson. Don Mattingly will become the interim manager. The Phillies are switching around roles for Dusty Wathan and Anthony Contreras.
"The Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson, sources told The Athletic. Don Mattingly will be interim manager," Gelb posted on X. "Dusty Wathan is the new bench coach. Anthony Contreras is third-base coach."
Last week, Dombrowski suggested the Phillies were not panicking.
He wanted to wait for things to play out before making a drastic decision on Thomson, who made the postseason in all of his first four seasons with the team, including a World Series appearance in 2022.
"Put it this way. We're not," Dombrowski said. "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.'"
Thomson went 355-270 during his time as manager of the Phillies. Philadelphia won the NL East back-to-back before entering this season.
With that being said, Bob Nightengale of USA Today thought it was surprising the Phillies brought Thomson back after an early exit in the postseason in 2025.
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Phillies 3-1 in the NLDS.
Nightengale invited speculation that the Phillies could go after manager Alex Cora, fired by the Boston Red Sox over the weekend. He noted Dombrowski has a close relationship with Cora.
It remains to be seen if the Phillies will try to hire Cora this season. For now, Mattlingly will take over interim duties.