There’s a major shakeup in Philadelphia. The Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday morning. Don Mattingly is the interim skipper, with the team’s press release saying he’ll hold that position for the remainder of the 2026 season. Philadelphia promoted third base coach Dusty Wathan to replace Mattingly as bench coach while calling up Triple-A manager Anthony Contreras as third base coach.
Philadelphia is the second struggling big-market team to make an early managerial change. The Red Sox dismissed Alex Cora and much of their coaching staff over the weekend. The Phillies didn’t overhaul the staff to the same extent, but it’s a major change nonetheless. They’ll hope it’ll light a fire under an underperforming team that is out to a 9-19 start, tying them with the Mets at the bottom of the National League.
It’s easy to connect the dots given the timing of the firings. Phils president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was leading the Red Sox’s front office when Boston first hired Cora in 2017. The Sox won the World Series a year later. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Phillies offered the job to Cora, who declined while citing a desire to spend more time with family. Cora’s deal with Boston paid him upwards of $7MM per season through 2027, so he’s well positioned financially to take some time away if that’s indeed his preference.
The Phillies decided a change was needed even if Cora weren’t interested. Mattingly seems set to handle through the job through the end of the season. Of course, he has an even stronger tie with the Philly front office. His son Preston is Philadelphia’s general manager, the #2 in baseball operations underneath Dombrowski.
The firing ends Thomson’s three-plus year run leading the club, one that was highly successful overall. He was initially hired on an interim basis when the Phils dismissed Joe Girardi in June 2022. Thomson took over a team that was seven games below .500 and 12 back in the NL East. They went 65-46 the rest of the way to snag the NL’s final playoff spot, then tore through the Senior Circuit playoff field to win the pennant. Even after they dropped a six-game World Series at the hands of the Astros, it was an easy call for the Phillies to commit to Thomson as the full-time skipper.
It’d be too simplistic to attribute the ’22 turnaround solely to the managerial change. The Phils dismissed Girardi because they had a talented roster that wasn’t performing to expectations. Some kind of improvement was probably inevitable either way. The Phillies’ regular season results continued to improve during Thomson’s three full seasons at the helm. They respectively won 90, 95, and 96 games between 2023-25. Philadelphia has won the NL East in each of the last two seasons and comfortably made the playoffs all three years.
Despite the regular season trend, their postseason performances have gone in the wrong direction. Philadelphia lost a seven-game NLCS to the Diamondbacks in 2023. They’ve been bounced in the Division Series (by the Mets and Dodgers, respectively) in each of the past two years. Philly’s front office has pointed to the unpredictability of short series in remaining committed to Thomson as manager. They signed him to an extension running through 2027 last December.
Things changed quickly. The Phillies couldn’t have started this year much more poorly. They’ve only won two series, and those came against the Nationals and Rockies. They’ve lost each of their past six series, including a 10-game losing streak that dropped them from .500 to 8-18 last week.
The issues have been up and down the roster. Cristopher Sánchez has been their only effective starting pitcher. The offense has scored 102 runs, above only the Giants and Mets. They’re 29th in batting average and on-base percentage while ranking 17th in home runs. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh have been their only above-average hitters. They’ve gotten particularly poor starts from Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott, while offseason signee Adolis García hasn’t provided much in right field.
Philadelphia’s recent success has been built on excellent starting pitching and a potent lineup. They’ve had a difficult time building strong bullpens and are one of the league’s weakest defensive teams. The rotation should benefit from Zack Wheeler’s return from thoracic outlet surgery and more consistency from Jesús Luzardo, but they’re lacking depth beyond their top five arms. The Phillies let Ranger Suárez walk in free agency, relying on Andrew Painter to step into the rotation. Painter’s performance has been up and down, while Aaron Nola continues to be much too susceptible to home runs. They pulled the plug on Taijuan Walker last week, releasing the struggling righty once Wheeler returned.
The front office certainly deserves some of the blame for the underwhelming start. That said, it’s not as if Thomson’s managerial tenure was uniformly positive. He came under some fire for his in-game tactics in the playoffs and had a rift with Nick Castellanos, who publicly criticized the skipper’s communication skills. Veteran reliever Matt Strahm reportedly also voiced some displeasure internally with how Thomson handled his bullpen last season. The front office sided with Thomson in both instances, releasing Castellanos and trading Strahm to Kansas City.
It now falls on Mattingly to lead a turnaround, one the Phillies hope will resemble their 2022 season. They’ve already dropped 10.5 games behind the red hot Braves in the division race. Getting to 90 wins would require them to play at a 60.4% clip (a 98-win pace) for the rest of the season. It’s doable but leaves them without much margin for error, and another few weeks of play this poor would dig a hole from which they’d have almost no chance to recover.
The 65-year-old Mattingly is in his first season in Philadelphia. He spent the previous three seasons working as John Schneider’s bench coach in Toronto. The Jays came up just shy of winning a World Series last year and hoped to bring back their entire coaching staff. Mattingly declined, preferring the Philly opportunity. It seems fair to assume he didn’t expect to be the interim manager within a month of joining one of the NL’s perennial contenders, but that’s the situation in which he finds himself.
Mattingly has 12 seasons of managerial experience. He led the Dodgers from 2011-15 and skippered the Marlins between 2016-22. He predictably had much more success in Los Angeles, leading the team to three division titles. Mattingly made the postseason just once in seven seasons in Miami, a 31-29 showing during the shortened 2020 schedule. He holds an 889-950 record as a major league manager.
Wathan assumes his highest-profile role on the Philly staff. The 52-year-old has been in the organization for nearly two decades. He worked his way up as a minor league manager and has been the third base coach since the 2018 season. Wathan has held that position under Gabe Kapler, Girardi, and Thomson. Contreras now takes that role for his first MLB coaching opportunity. He has managed Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the last four-plus seasons.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic was first on Thomson’s dismissal and Mattingly being named interim manager. Respective images courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images.
He gone
Carlos Mendoza is sweating.
He is next.
Muts on line 1.
Thomson out – did not surprise
Mattingly in charge – did surprise
🎵Donnie in charge of- my ‘pen and my bunts!🎵
It should have been Bowa.
Bring back Girardi to complete the circle.
Tessio was always smarter
Heard he asked for one more chance, for old time sake.
Bowa is still in jail, perhaps if he makes parole. 🤣
Not when his son is in FO
Once Cora turned down the job, hiring Mattingly as the interim manager became obvious.
Cora turning down the opportunity makes sense. He’s getting paid millions. Take the opportunity to get off the treadmill and to better assess all the opportunities. The Phillies job is likely still there for 2027.
Still, this current Phillies team is perfect for Cora. Full of complacent veterans who’d rather chat about what bar they’re going to after the game than focusing on them winning ballgames. I bet it was a tough choice for him to decline at this time.
I agree, that roster is smoked. Hard to blame Thomson on this one really. They’ve kept the same roster in place since 2022, which means they have all the same guys, but 4 years older.
I thought Phillies fans wanted all those guys signed? Nola? Schwarber etc. Harper signed forever.
You thought wrong.
But they have God’s gift to baseball, Bryce Harper. Just ask him.
Cora is so overpaid and overrated. while he does many things well, the fact that Boston always leads the league in errors to me goes back to spring training and a lack of preparation. The players share in this but so do should Cora. His handling of the staff also leads a lot to be desired He’s also cocky despite his appearance and thought he was Teflon in Boston.
Donnie Baseball is about to show why he was the best off-season acquisition by any team this year!
Don Mattingly has a managerial record of 889-950. Tell me again what he’s going to do this time?
Context is important.
His record with the Florida Marlins, during a time of their perpetual rebuilding process, was 443-587 (43.0%).
His record with the LA Dodgers — a team that actually had a talented roster during his managerial tenure — was 446-363 (56.1%).
That’s a pretty notable difference.
I wish the Phillies made different moves during the offseason. But assuming/if the Phillies pitching can fall into place, the roster is still talented enough to have had wildcard expectations heading into the season.
They’ve dug themselves a deep hole. But hopefully Mattingly can help turn things around and guide them to the postseason.
If you have a pulse, and can stay awake for 4 hrs in a row, you could manage the Dodgers. Guiding the Phillies to the post season may be doable. But Mattingly never got the the World Series with the Dodgers, even though he won the NL West 3 times while managing that team. Mattingly was 8-11 as manager of the Dodgers in the postseason.
Well, if your claim is Mattingly’s overall record isn’t good. And you then poo-poo on his numbers with an actual roster that had talent (and no, the Dodgers weren’t quite as talented then as they are lately). You could also claim the Marlins were about as awful a roster as a manager could have while Mattingly was there.
So, I guess we could call it a wash by your standards. He’s 0-0 as a manager then. We’ll see how he does in Philly.
Mattingly makes strange managerial decisions. He does unorthodox things, especially with the Marlins, that make him look like he’s challenged by the job. The fact of the matter is he got this current gig with the Phillies because of nepotism. Maybe he does better with the Phils. But what is Mattingly gonna do that Thomson didn’t? The Phillies roster is filled with talented, but aging players. Most of us were shocked when they resigned as many of their old players as they did, especially Realmuto. It could very well be that their time has passed.
2 down,one to go!!!
Carlos Mendoza: “What’s that supposed to mean?!!!” 😜
The Mets are tied with the Phillies . Why worry
Mendoza isn’t going anywhere. He’s a David Stearns hire. Stearns is not going to admit defeat this early in the season on one of his guys.
Donny Baseball’s back!
So what?
it’s ginormous that Donny is back, this is why u washed up, homey
He’ll mean nothing in the long run. Nice that he has fanboys like you, though. Maybe you can get his autograph.
bro, I wash his cars every weekend for free, it don’t get any better than that…
Saw this coming a mile away, especially after the whole Cora situation in Boston
What does one have to do with the other? Also congrats for seeing it coming, we are al very proud.
Bruce may be theorizing that Cora wants a year off and Mattingley is a placeholder until next year which may be the case unless Mattingly wants to manage going forward and the Phillies turn it around this year.
Seems like a stretch.
Cora already turned Dombo down Sack. the irony is fantastic.
acell:
The Red Sox fans that hate Cora, are the same that are infatuated with DD.
I wonder how they process the fact that Dombrowski wants Cora. Give it a week and theyll come around to a ‘The Red Sox problems werent really Cora’s, but the owners and Breslow . . . ‘
Dombrowki hired Cora and gave him his big break in Boston.
They set a Red Sox season record for wins won a World Series Championship together there.
So,it is only natural that they may work together in the future, just not this year.
Maybe they will work together again but it won’t be with the phillies.
Still a possibility for the Phillies.
Depends on whether Mattingly can right the ship.
Another big market club underperforming…. Those come in bunches most times. If you don’t like it move along??? Also wasn’t looking for any recognition. No big deal though I’ll just mute you since this is just talking baseball and I don’t have listen to your criticizing.
And he got the dreaded ‘vote of confidence’ from Dombrowski recently…
Death, taxes, Royce Lewis to the IL, and a manager/head coach getting fired shortly after the GM/POBO declares that so-and-so’s position has never been more secure.
Geez. I don’t care how bad your team is, the fact that 2 teams couldn’t even wait until the ASB to clean house on the coaching front just tells me these coaches are scapegoats.
Absolutely ridiculous.
It’s about tv ratings and money.
lol what
So when you have a bunch of really good players and only 1 decent team in your division you should just ride out the losing until its too late? This is absolutely the right time to shake it up if they feel that will help, not 3 months from now when its too late and the Mets have already righted their ship.
The Phillies fired Girardi a little later in the season in 2022 when they weren’t as bad and made it to the World Series. The players obviously weren’t listening or motivated so something had to be done. This team averaged almost -2 runs a game including their wins. They are playing awful in every way possible.DD definitely bears a huge responsibility for this mess but if they waited any longer they had no chance to recover and make a run.
You obviously haven’t watched their games. They are disgracefully awful.
What purpose is there to waiting until allstar break? Silly random date to clean house is how I would frame it. This was 100% necessary. As far as scapegoat goes, yes the person responsible for the day to day effort should be held accountable. You state scapegoat as though he is blameless. The job of every manager everywhere is the get the players or employees to perform to expectations. Thompson was not successful, so of course he got canned.
If the manager and front office aren’t on the same page ya gotta fire the manager. The roster is the front office’s and the vision for roster makeup is also on the front office. It’s up to the manager to execute that vision and to provide the tools for the players to improve. If they aren’t on the same page you don’t win and it’s the front office show ultimately.
Phillies are old. I don’t know why they were picked to win the division. Probably that’s all the front office needed to see and not make any improvements.
I cam give you the best, most powerful ford engine in the world, and, you try to stuff it into a chevy, its not going to work. One or the other needs to change, be modified with extra stuff added. Doesn’t mean the engines no good.
A manager can be a good manager but be the wrong manager for a particular roster or team of guys. Both pieces – manager, and, the constructed roster/team philosophy wrapped around him need to work well together.
Cora was a bad fit for the machine he found himself in.
Was Thomson the wrong guy for the situation he found himself surrounded in? Could be he’s not the best guy to get the most out of players entering this point in their careers too
Mattingly is back, but can he save Philly?
Nope
Dwight Schrute is MANAGER!!!!!!
he’s assistant to the Manager
They can’t beet this comment, wvredsfan…
thanks but it was a layup
Not really. My comment was an actual quote from the show, and needed no correction.
Not before Ryan Howard, with mustache.
Eat fresh
Creed Bratton is the Manager!!!!
Meanwhile in Flushing crickets. Mendodo is dead man walking.
No other former Yankees currently available
Joe Girardi
Mainly DD’s fault but he may be following and you can’t fire all the players.
Actually, it is the players fault.
They got too comfortable and lost their edge.
In Mattingly’s first game as interum Manager,
the team woke up and was playing better in many facets of the game.
Sometimes it takes new, fresh voice and new approach.
It’s a shame because Thompson is from all reports one of the better dudes in baseball but this was needed.
Better dudes but not one of the better managers
I dont even think he was that bad. He just has like 1-2 aspects he needs to clean up. I’d still take him over half the skippers in baseball
Thomson will get another manager job.
Had to do something to shake up that ballclub.
Need to make a blockbuster trade to break up that group
and get some younger, hungrier players in the mix.
If he wants to manage again, I agree with you. Someone will give him a chance.
I’m definitely getting closer to the blow it up time than not. Which sucks because I love this team and this group but the window if not completely closed is certainly very close to it.
They can make 1 or 2 Blockbuster deals and
get this team right back on track.
Dombrowki did it in Detroit when he traded Granderson
and netted a young Scherzer and a few other useful players.
Could use a young, up and coming OF who can hit and defense along with a younger, highly rated up and coming 2B/3B guy a couple of spark plugs to light a fire under this team.
This feels more like DD’s fault for having an old and expensive roster instead of Thomson
Mattingly getting another chance at manager is pretty cool though hes never had a roster like this
“[N]ever had a roster like this.”
Do you mean not one this good? He managed the Dodgers before Dave Roberts took over.
@differentbears: I believe he means an aging and underachieving roster but I could be wrong. His Dodgers teams had great, win-now rosters and his Marlins teams were young and scrappy. Now he’s tasked with turning around a team that is possibly too old or possibly not playing up to its potential.
Both
The pre Roberts dodgers were ok but nothing like the today rosters
They won the division three straight years, which had never happened before in Dodger history. They weren’t the Death Star Dodgers, but they were a winner.
@sad mariners fan: The Mattingly Dodgers, in one offseason, added Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, Ryu, Greinke, Carl Crawford, and Puig. They all played pretty well in 2013 and 2014, too. They might not be “The Dodgers” as we currently know them but they were plenty talented.
Phillies right now are older than those Dodgers teams and not only did they not really add anything this past offseason, they lost Ranger Suarez.
They didn’t win a ws, then mattinlgly axed
McCourt used the Dodgers revenues as his and his wife’s personal ATM machine.
They purchased multiple luxury homes and vehicles and were big spenders on other items.
Only 5M more and they could have resigned Adrian Beltre.
Mattingly is being used as a buffer between whatever this is (vague gestures) and the next permanent manager. Cora knew enough not to walk into the mess that is Phillies Clubhouse 2026 until someone else goes in, opens the windows and airs the place out. Plus some of the problems are age, roster construction and injury that can’t be fixed from the manager’s office, and you don’t want to own all those until DD gets a chance to clean up a bit.
But this winter there will be a search, and I imagine that unless he does something very special in the next month, Mats will only get a look as if he was a participant in this situation rather than the solution. They have had competent, nice, empathetic leaders and done both better and worse over the years, so more of the same isn’t a difference maker.
DD gets a chance to clean up? He’s probably next to go. Dombo made this mess with albatross contracts and a weak farm system. it’s what happens when he reaches his expiration date.
Time for a few of those patented Dave Dombrowski block buster
trade deals.
No player(s) on this ballclub should be safe from trading.
who’s going want any of the players on the ball club? they’re either old, underperforming or both.
All teams have needs.
Just have to match the Phillies needs with the trading partner’s needs.
Mets got a few old dudes as well. Things dont look good there either.
Horses that stumble out of the gate sometimes throw their jockey.
Congratulations to Donnie I wish he was back in New York but good luck to him.
Mattingly was never going to be the Yankee manager under any circumstances.
This has Alex Cora > Philly next week written all over it. Dombrowski knows him well too.
Doesnt make sense to replace Donny so quickly
The Phillies wish.
Zero chance.
Alex has more sense than that. The problems are not rooted in anything the manager can fix, the expectations are too high and he can get hired next winter after they bite the bullet and make some fundamental roster moves.
Cora is being paid through ’27 by the Red Sox….he’ll have better options moving forward than an aging Phillies team. Cora playing the long game here.
Cora was offered the job and declined.
Nick Castellanos just cracked a Presidente.
Matt Strahm also
Castellanos was a scapegoat in Philly.
Dombrowski should have made some major changes in the offseason
with a few blockbuster trade deals.
Maybe he tried, but the deals he wanted to make were not enough to help this team move forward.
Trade deadline or sooner could be interesting.
Not Thomson’s fault. Team just got old. Outfield players are just horrible. Pitching in bottom of league. Not much to work with. More injuries on the way.
I would take Brandon Marsh from that outfield group!
They are not trading Brandon Marsh.
They do need to secure another OF who plays the corner OF or maybe all 3 spots and can hit.
The pitching has started badly, but the rotation and closer are actually quite good when they are “on their game”
Can Donnie baseball bring back the old Nola ? I doubt it.
Mendoza should be getting ready as he is next.
Deck chairs
How r Mendoza, Sterns still employed??
Congratulations Mr. Mattingly, I really liked having you in a Blue Jays uniform and wish you all the best as Interim Manager of the Phillies.
Ray-I am ready.
To manage the Phillies that is.
An article in the Philadelphia Inquirer today said that Dombrowski had three trusted scouts in the dugout or clubhouse for a couple of days and that does not augur well for the manager.They must have seen something that they did not like.
The fact that almost everyone on the team is old with little to no help on the farm does not augur well for the General Manager.
I think that the Phillies had to do what they did or did not do with the recent big win teams during the regular season but this team is not far away from the pennant winning “Wheeze Kids” from 1983.
Plus Thompson did not know how to manage in the playoffs.
Dombrowski has a specific skill set: he can take a team from Close To Winning all the way to a championship. He consistently does it in two ways: spends a bunch of money and trades away a lot of talent. He’ll keep a few special top prospects, but most of the others are bargaining chips.
What it ends up looking like is rings, a short dynasty, and then a descent into old guys on expensive deals and no easy way to hold the position due to long-term commitments and few prospects.
Dave D has never stayed around through the tough days that follow, and I don’t expect him to hang around Philadelphia much longer either. This is the unpleasant part of his model and he isn’t good at owning the consequences phase.
Alec Bohm was oft-rumored to be non-tendered last winter. The fact that Bohm is still on the Phillies speaks volumes about the inertia in their front office.
if your team is lucky Dombo brings a championship but Detriot never got that and Philly fans have to experience that.
He got a 119 loss DET team to the World Series in three years, and they went again six years later. They had good chances. Same with PHI: plenty of shots in the playoffs and sorry they didn’t get over the hump. But he took them from .500 to a regular 90+ win team that goes to the playoffs.
A GM can build a winning team, but there’s no way to build a WS winning team. Stuff happens and no one gets a pass to the pennant. 25 teams would be ecstatic with the success DET and PHI have enjoyed under DD.
That is an incorrect read on
Dombrowski.
MLB Ownership hires its POBs and GM’s and gives them their marching orders, business plan and yearly team budgets.
Dombrowski built younger,lower salaried teams brimming with young talent in Montreal and Miami.
The Expos were on the brink of the World Series with the best record in baseball when the baseball strike killed the season.
Most of those players were Dombrowski drafted and acquired players
that were the core of the team that still competed for the playoffs after DD left for Miami.
Dombrowski took and expansion team in Miami that had nothing, not even any players and built it up through drafts, trades and seasoned with a few free agents into a World Series Championship team in record time.
Ownership in Miami(Waste Management guy) ordered the teardown of the Marlins 1st championship team because they were selling the team.
Trades Dombrowski made and his player drafts were the foundation of the Marlins 2nd Championship with mostly Dombrowski’s drafted and aquired players a few years after Dombrowski left for Detroit.
Detroit was a special circumstance since its owner was dying and ordered Dombrowski to pull out all the stops, trade, sign FA’s to give Mike Illitch the chance at a World Series Championship before he died.
Dombrowski and Ilitch parted ways when Dombrowski started trading veterans for younger up and coming players to keep the Tigers playoffs competitive.
The boss, Mike Illitch, sabatoged and stopped Dombrowski from retooling the Tigers roster and getting younger actions that entended the Tigers rebuild for many more years after Mike Illitch’s death and made Al Avila’s task that much more difficult after Mike Illitch’s death.
If you look at the current Detroit Tigers pennant contending roster, you will find that most of those players were drafted and acquired by former Dombrowksi lieutenant and former Tigers GM Al Avila. (Yes it was time for Avila to move on, but there is no question that Avila made major contributions to the current Tigers pennant contending roster)
Dombrowski left Detroit when Detroit’s Owner,Mike Illitch would not face the facts, let DD at least retool the team if not rebuilt the team because the roster was aging.
Dombrowski’s tenure in Detroit included their longest run of playoffs contention in team history in cluding 2 AL pennants and multiple division titles.
John Henry hired Dombrowki to win a World Series Championship with the Red Sox and to ” pull out all the stops” to do it.
Dombrowski followed his boss, John Henry’s orders and the Red Sox set a season record for wins and won a World Series Championship during Dombrowski’s tenure in Boston.
In Philadelphia, before Dombrowski all the experts, pundits, Phillies fans were demanding a complete teardown after a widely rated failed Phillies rebuild. The boo birds were out in full force. The Titanic was close to hitting the iceberg if you believe fair weather Phillies fans.
Dombrowski rescued the Phillies from the Iceberg and had their team in the World Series and a few breaks away from a Championship in less than 1 year?!
Dombrowski and the Front Office cannot play the field, pitch in games and/or get clutch hits that win games and Championships.
That is up to the players.
Bad luck and lack of clutch hitting and pitching in crucial playoffs and World Series games are on the Phillies players, not Dave Dombrowski!
Dave Dombrowski should be allowed to finish the job he was hired to do in Phillie.
If not, it could get a lot worse for the Phillies.
It was what, 10-15 years before Dombrowski was hired before the Phillies were anywhere close to the playoffs and and a World Series Championship…
DD implements the business plan of Ownership.
this simping for Dombo is hilarious. So he gets all of the credit but none of the blame whne things go sidewise for his team.
Dombrowski rescued the Phillies from the Iceberg and had their team in the World Series and a few breaks away from a Championship in less than 1 year?!
==================
The team was intact when he got there. Klentak built it. When DD arrived, he inherited Realmuto, Harper, Bohm, Stott, as well as an AS pitching staff in Wheeler, Sanchez, Nola, and Suarez.
He signed Schwarber, Castellanos, Walked & Turner to big contracts. The only notable player he added was Luzardo.
There was like this closer guy who throws 100 that showed up. Adolis is too early to call but it’s not looking great. Same with Keller.
Duran was a necessary addition, but both Tait and Abel could become very good players. Tait looks like a good hitter, but not sure if he sticks at catcher. Abel is on the IL, but allowed -0- runs in his last two starts.
And, He fired Girardi and hired Rob Thomson and others.
Phillies fans and Phillies sports media were openly advocating for another complete teardown like the White Sox 10+ year rebuild.
Dombrowski’s experience, judge of talent on the roster and also selecting Rob Thomson as Manager were key changes that maded the Phillies a contender without another teardown and rebuild.
Even Phillies Owner has stated that Dombrowski worked miracles with the Phillies roster and new manager.
And,the team was going nowhere when Ownership hired Dombrowski.
Experienced Leadership in the Front Office lead to its fast turn around.
Prior Front Office was scuffling and could not make the Phillies a contender with the roster they had.
So all Dombrowski did was spend more money and trade prospects. Just as he did at his previoius two stops. Again not much more to it than that and doesn’t require that much skill.
Not a big surprise
Best of luck to Mattingly – good fit. Great call signing on with the Phils this offseason. Wisdom (and possibly, a well-timed phone call).
And a son as GM….
Thomson just signed an extension before the season started and now he’s fired before April is over. What a game.
Lucky b astard
Just like Cora
I expect he’d rather still be managing, but the financial windfall has to be nice.
Not Dumbroski’s money! Whee, let’s spin the manager wheel and, well, the arrow lands on Donnie Baseball!
If it makes u feel any better window
Big payroll tms like redsox & muts also bottom of standings… its almost as if these big market giants need to re think who they hire, how they do business, how they structure their rosters, and how they develop prospects instead of spending blindly and assuming that’ll automatically produce a winner
What salem said describes the Super League mentality that’s polluted sportsball. Doesn’t matter if it’s baseball in the States or soccer in England.
Remember that time the Bucks and Middleton were cool with Charlie Manuel being the fall guy instead of Ruben Amaro Jr.?
Remember the Chris Elliot sitcom “Get a Life”?
Bad TV done right!
You’re giving me Klentak and Kapler flashbacks. Noooooooo!
KOLCHAK! Beverly Hills Buntz!
This was inevitable, even though I think he’s not to blame here. He’s a good manager. I blame DD for the roster construction. He has failed to improve a poor outfield and keeps playing it back, hoping it will be different. He’s the one that should go. Not sure Donny Baseball is the answer, but hopefully it can wake up the roster a bit. I would rather see someone with spit and fire that holds the group accountable, challenges the aging primadonnas that fill the roster, and throws a few bats in the shower now and then.
Larry Bowa is still available and able.
Mattingly is not a Billy Martin type and he should know. Played for the often-hired-often-fired Yankee manager when Steinbrenner was causing havoc in The Bronx.
‘I would rather see someone with spit and fire that holds the group accountable, challenges the aging primadonnas that fill the roster, and throws a few bats in the shower now and then.“
They already tried and fired Girardi.
Thomson lost the clubhouse and team.
They were not responding to him anymore.
No reason for the Phillies to not be competing with Atlanta for the Division.
Sure it helps, but Topper wasn’t hitting for them or working on hitting with them. Needing a change at hitting coach and changing their plate approach/displine is the main issue!!
There’s way more here than a hitting coach can fix. The pitching staff is a mess between age, injury and perhaps some things that a coach could help with.
All of these guys before Mendoza is wild!
Anyhoo, glad to see Don back in the skipper’s seat. Get him ready to take over for Boone. 😉
Mattingly is part of the old-boy network at this point in his career. The Yankees don’t hire from the old-boy network.
This oldboy can dream!
Gil needs to be traded. I’d package him and Jones for someone. LaGrange is next to be their 8th inning guy like Mo was in the beginning. Bednar is a free agent can be our version of Wettland this year
Cora already turned Dombo down too. that’s very funny.
Good luck in your future endeavors Gomer Pyle.
Cotham should go too
Once Cora got fired how do you justify not firing Thompson? But he’s not the issue, the issue is that they’ve failed to actually go after the missing piece since they go to the WS. Ironically any move they would have made this off-season would have been bad, no one is playing well. Letting Schwarber go would have looked really and tho.
What was the missing piece?
2023 OF with Marsh and Rojas. Santander was available, he was on the block. Orioles never made a move, but I think the Phillies ultimately would have gotten back to the WS if they had make a trade for a better OF piece at the deadline or even signed someone. Bellinger was available for just a pile of cash. Stupid money remember?
The inevitable Dombrowski veteran decline has started. This is how Dave leaves clubs. I bet he will “retire” at the end of the year, and then resurface in 2028 to help set up one of the two expansion clubs.
This is exactly the DD plan: spend, trade, win, bask in fan adulation, dash as things get old and stale. I could see him announcing this well before fall, TBH.
Wow!
Blame Dombrowski for Ownerships’ decisions.
And, take all the credit for all the winning, playoffs appearances, NL Pennant, World Series appearances etc.
At some point, it is “on the players” and coaches to execute
the team play and win the Championship.
Blaming Dombrowski for failures of coaches and players is ridiculous!
Without Dombrowski rescuing the Phillies franchise, the Phillies would be in the midst of a 10 year rebuild like the White Sox.
Blaming Dombrowski for failures of coaches and players is ridiculous!
==================
So if the coaches and players failed, and DD was responsible for acquiring the failed coaches and players, this isn’t DD’s fault?
Players were not performing as a team.
Thomson lost the clubhouse.
Players were not responding.
It was time for a New Voice in dugout.
Everyone likes Thomson,but every so often you have to change the approach with veteran players who have contracts.
Ozzie Guillen
I mean hey, for what it’s worth, the last time the Phillies fired their manager mid-season, it led to a fantastic run that ended with an NL Pennant.
I’ll take Pat’s over Geno’s any day.
Yep, insides out with provolone. Oh, and all the peppers you can fit. Ouch! I gained three pounds just typing that.
Does Cora have to take a job if offered? I thought that a team has to pay the guaranteed salary, but whatever they are obligated to pay is reduced by whatever they are earning somewhere else (so that double dipping isn’t possible). But, if he’s offered a job and that scenario I presented is correct, you’d think there would be an obligation to take the job. Or, no?
Why would Cora have an obligation to take any job?
It’s called a mitigation clause where the guaranteed money is offset by future employment earnings.
Depends on if he had a mitigation clause in his contract.
He was fired and can take any job he wants. He’s not obligated to take a job but he or the team might be obligated to offset the salary difference for the Red Sox if he’s hired again.
He’s not in any union or subject to any bargaining agreement, he’s management. No rules bind him.
It might be a condition of applying for unemployment compensation in his state. Just kidding…I think.
If the Red Sox are still paying him he is not unemployed. Just not managing.
Haha! Made me think of Wayne Fontes who did apply for unemployment when he was canned by the Lions.
He’s got a contract, so it depends on what is said in the contract. It is a thing, maybe just in some contracts and/or in some sports. Michigan football had a coach (I wanna say Rich Rod or Hoke) and it was a story then…. Michigan was arguing that they didn’t want to pay the rest of the contract because the coach could have been working somewhere else but wasn’t.
I asked chat GPT for examples, and I was given 2. Chip Kelly and Urban Meyer. And, it’s called a mitigation clause where the money is guaranteed but offset by future employment earnings.But, it depends on the contract that was negotiated.
I guess I should have asked chat GPT first.
but that doesn’t mean Cora is obligated to take a job if he’s offered one.
So is Mendoza at this point just sitting in his office, flinching every time his phone rings?
I would be if I were him!
The soup and and the plot thickens!!! Oh wait just the soup…Donnie is the manager or is he???Cora joins Philly with Donnie and wins it all and I can hear Dione Warwick singing “ what the world needs now is love sweet love”( Time to sober up this morning)
If the offense wakes up, they can make a run and get a WC.
If Wheeler is healthy in September ( and they make it, big if )….. this team can make some noise.
I wouldn’t want to face them. Not many teams have a legit 2 Aces
A change was necessary and the most direct change is the manager. If they don’t turn it around, the next levers are more dramatic. They have almost zero tradable assets which makes a rebuild almost impossible. This may be the start of 10 more years of futility
Lolphillies
Called it!:
The Magic Loogie
April 23, 2026
Yup, so the phans and phront office won’t be able to blame it all Thompson when he gets canned shortly 😱
What does Wathan have to do to get the job??? At least he is one step closer.
🤣😂💥
I think this is the right move, the team is one more sweep or one injury away from falling out of the race entirely. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a couple of roster moves before they go to Florida too.
I hope this wakes them up..
I see Don’s grand plan of having a son – raising him in baseball – having him work in front offices – he gets promoted to GM – son fires dad’s boss – dad manages team – plan is working to perfection. Don Mattingly is the ultimate 27D Chess player.
Batting Schwarber first is bad baseball.
Brad Pitt tells me he gets on base.
Funny how fast things change. I remember when Phillies fans were calling him Philly-Rob like he’s lived there his whole life. Especially when he was a Giradri guy and New Yorker.
Even funnier he gets fired under similar circumstances to Girardi.
Not all Phillies fans were on the Topper fanboy club. He should have won a chip, terrible job in postseasons and yes I know the big high payroll bats disappeared too.
It seems Preston got his wish and Don
Fire the players. I know everyone says “you can’t do that,” but actually yeah, you can. The manager is also under contract and he can be fired but the players can’t? It’s just a matter of money.
Let a few players go and option others. Bring up some kids and make a few trades if you can. Just change the culture of the room and take your shot. This ain’t gonna do anything. Especially not Mattingly, who is basically the same guy as Thomson.
They did – castellanos and Walker for starters. Ate a ton of money.
There are only two type of managers. The one that has been fired and the one that will be fired.
Fire sale at the deadline?? Not sure they have all that much to sell that would bring back premium prospects.
Too many big buck contracts. Like Nick Castellanos and Taijuan Walker, those contracts were untradeable so they ended up eating the $$$ and released them.
If they do look to trade some of the big guns and/or starting pitchers, they’re gonna have to eat a lot of those $$$ to move Nola, Realmuto, Turner or Schwarber.
They would be selling/trading for Pennie’s on the dollar. Most of their players values have dive-bombed.
This makes more sense than the Cora firing, unless Cora was causing so many problems they had to let him go.
1) Cora just got the extension.
2) The Phillies are in their window with Harper, Realmuto, Nola and Wheeler. If they don’t do it now you have to wonder how long before they go into rebuild mode. It isn’t like they are loaded with kids in the wings.
Me thinks that “window” has far too many cracks in it. Gonna be lucky to win 85 games and that most likely means being on the outside looking in come playoff time. Ya, see. Some windows can’t be fixed.
Next Mendoza
Complete Sentences
Yes, and punctuation marks too. Who taught these youngsters how to write? Certainly not Sister Mary of 1,000 Agonies.
lol!
Should have hired Tebow.
I know that this is the way things are done when teams are under-achieving, but does the front office really think that the manager has suddenly gotten stupid after winning 90+ games 3 years in a row? It was obvious a couple of years ago that the Phillies were getting old and there needed to be an infusion of younger talent. That didn’t happen, so now the manager takes the blame for this ugly start to the season. If the Phillies start winning under Mattingly, people will say the change was the reason. No, it’s strictly mathematical – things trend toward the mean. You lose a bunch early and you win a bunch later.
I agree. It was a little early for this IMO. The manager wasn’t the one squaring off against all the elite lefties. I would bench Stott until he started producing again. More Sosa against RHP.
I would have sent Bohm home on indefinite personal leave. Bring back Otto for a second chance or bring in some other Mendoza line AAA fodder for 3B. Bohm is absolutely cooked this year. He’ll be the next to go. I can’t stomach his at bats right now. It’s embarrassing.
If you have been watching this team ( I pity you if you have) you’ll see a team that is completely lost. They make stupid pitches, stupid errors and can’t move runners or drive in runs. If they continue to suck then it’s time to blow up the team but maybe a change will light a fire under them. At this point staying the course was not an option.
Sometimes changing managers and coaches works.
Was overdue… but the FO needs to address things they’ve ignored the past three off-seasons. This isn’t on Thomson alone.
Phillies fired the wrong guy. Dombrowski did a poor job of putting this team together. There’s nobody after the top three hitters (Turner, Schwarber & Harper) in the batting order who opposing pitchers fear. It’s no wonder Harper feels compelled to swing at everything because he knows that him swinging at a bad pitch is still better than the hitters are batting below him swinging at a good pitch.
The bench bats, aside from Edmundo Sosa, are a waste. Too early to tell if replacing the anemic Otto Kemp with Felix Reyes is gonna pay dividends.
The one thing Dombrowski is good at is spending the owners money and trading away prospects for washed up veterans (Mickey Moniak for a few starts from Noah Syndergaard ring any bells?).
Dombro will leave in another year or so and the end result will be as it always is with him. The team will be old and in shambles leading to a half decade or more of losing baseball.
BS.
Most teams DD worked for were very competitive after he left including Expos and Marlins.
Every POB and GM has a few moves that do not pan out.
Cora probably has no desire to jump right back into a high pressure environment to manage. I could see him back in Houston if the Astros ever fire Espada.
Carlos Mendoza has to be sweating bullets right now as the Mets with the highest payroll out of the Sox and Phillies have been horrendous and he has to know his days are numbered
Zero chance Houston brings back a daily reminder of their everlasting shame.
I do not like the firing of Rob Thompson. It seems so knee-jerk reaction. You have bad days, bad months, sometimes bad years, it happens. I am kind of glad the Braves are in a smaller market so they do not make these kind of reactions this early in the season instead of riding out the bad waves. The Phillies did not look discouraged, they were just having a tough time, they played the Braves tough just like the Nats are doing. Season is wayyy to early to be firing the manager so quickly.
The problem is the Phillies are looking up at both the Marlins and Nationals in the standings and the Phillies payroll is double that of the Marlins and Nationals combined. High expectations and not delivering on results. When Mattingly was hired that should have been at least some indication that the seat under Thompson was getting warm
This team was showing flashing neon signs that this decline was going to happen for a while. Although they kept winning more games in the regular season they kept exiting the playoffs earlier every year. When it came playoff time they started to chase bad pitches and couldn’t make adjustments. That was coaching and managing and the players not making adjustments. Everything was exacerbated by the fact that DD kept signing people to contracts where the pay and contract far exceeded the diminishing production. This seems like the dive the 2011 to 2012 Phillies took only worse.
Cora can circle back to this job and many others in the offseason. No reason for him to take another job right now. Spend some time with the family and take the season off.
Don Mattingly has a managerial record of 889-950. He has his job because his son is the GM for the Phils.
I never thought Thompson was a good manager, but this isn’t all on him either. They have 4 offensive producers, all aged 33 or older.
The rotation has the potential to be really good, but it is relying on Wheeler (off of an injury), Painter (a rookie), Nola (who hasn’t been good since 2024), and Luzardo (whose only had one good outing this year).
Rotation has potential to be Elite.
Need more youth.
Aiden Miller should be up this year.
Crawford, Painter,Miller are the new wave of future Phillies stars.
Make some trades and get younger.
Yeah, one of the moves that could happen if Trea doesn’t start hitting is Miller up and Trea getting yeeted to CF or 3B.
Jackson Merrill is a SS who is playing a great CF for the Padres. Tatis Jr. also a SS along with Bogaerts, Machado, Cronenworth etc. Padres drafted and signed a lot of SS.
They also drafted Trey Turner and traded him and they traded top rated SS Leo De Vries.
Phillies have a lot of contracts with no trade clauses.
But, they will be trading some players.
Better shave those sideburns
As a Braves I was hoping they kept running Rob out there lol. I am a fan of Donnie Baseball. IMO he should be in the HOF. I think he makes the Phillies better. They might start showing some fight before the Braves completely run away with the NL East. I called the Braves going on a run a couple weeks back btw! 😉
Before I get roasted on Donnie Baseball look up his stats 1984-1994. Gold gloves all star appearances a MVP and domination. He is deserving.
I’m surprised because the Phillies extended him.
Smart move by Cora.
He 7M ’26 cash cushion
and another 7M ’27 cash cushion.
Better to take a break, golf, freelance as MLB commentator if he has time
and study, plan for his next MLB job.
Cora could still sign on with the Phillies for 2027 if the team
regroups and fixes some of its roster problems,
Previous 3 years he has the best bullpen in mlb and never knew how to used it.5 proven relievers ,can use 3 every knight assigning an inning to each but,they never knew their role.
Maybe the Phillies will play with more of a sense of urgency
Carlos Mendoza seen carrying boxes to Mr. and Mrs Mets house. New curtains spotted inside upstairs bedroom. Mendoza expected to accept a lower level job in Mets organization! A new “Senoir Met” cartoon character has been circulating in some local news organizations.
do what the dodgers would do .. steal kevin cash from the rays during the offseason
Alright Mets do the same with Carlos Mendoza.
This will accomplish exactly nothing.
I’m out here sacrificing live chickens so Stott and Bohm will start hitting again.
Should’ve just kept Girardiq
Players weren’t responding to Girardi.
And,players stopped performing for Rob Thomson
Donnie Baseball! Awesome
I wonder how Mattingly feels to know that he was the 2nd choice to fill Thompson’s seat behind Cora?
He hasn’t had a top job in 3 years. I’m suggesting relieved. There is no way a normal person could be upset by that.
Schwarbers an above avg hitter?
Discussion question: who will be the next manager(s) to be fired?
From ESPN:
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acknowledged that he offered Philadelphia’s managerial job to Alex Cora on Sunday, one day after Cora was fired in stunning fashion by the Boston Red Sox.
Cora ultimately declined the offer Monday, prompting Dombrowski to name bench coach Don Mattingly as Thomson’s interim replacement for the remainder of the season.
this just keeps getting better hahaha
Thomson’s firing began the day the Phils got the idea to bring Mattingly aboard. They realized for a long time that Thomson was a nice guy, but not an effective bench manager. He didn’t know how to put a lineup together or respond to game action, he played favorites, and he let the inmates run the asylum.
Thomson is the third domino to fall. Castellanos and Walker were the first two. The Phils have evidently revealed they are losing money, despite the gate receipts, TV contracts, concessions, licensing, related businesses etc., and since they are no longer filling seats as they once did, they have to rethink their entire corporate structure. The first step will be to change personnel, getting leaner and meaner along the way.
The next steps will involve a sequential elimination of prohibitive contracts. In no specific order, the Phils will try to trade Schwarber, Turner, and Nola, and continue to resist Harper’s demands for a new contract, thereby allowing Harper to do the leg work and determine his next destination himself. Lesser-paid underachievers will also be moved, but in less dramatic fashion. Since a work stoppage is predicted for 2027, the Phils may start making changes to their roster sooner than later, and in Schwarber’s case, before this year’s trade deadline. Schwarber gains 5-10 rights after this season, and because he’ll be able to veto any trade after that, the Phils may decide to move him post haste.
If done correctly, the Phils will be able to acquire a small army of reasonably-paid position players and pitchers who will be able to join the remaining nucleus in rebuilding the Phils and creating a more exciting team that plays small ball, runs the bases, and fights until the last out of every game. Freeing up money will also allow the Phils to keep their current closer Duran, who they would not be able to afford with guys like Schwarber still on the payroll.
Don Mattingly has already proven himself to be a formidable major league manager, but how long he will remain with the Phils is uncertain. Dusty Wathan was a very successful minor league manager who worked very well with young players, and he may be a solid choice to guide the Phils as they rebuild into a legitimate contender.
There was talk of Alex Cora becoming the Phils new manager, but there may be more to the Cora story than meets the eye. Since being fired, the Red Sox have won their first three games, so the Phils may be wise being careful what they wish for.
The Phils will probably do well in their next two series, against the Giants and Rockies, but after that, not even Mattingly will be able to help a team that has gotten too complacent too quick. The game of baseball is changing and not even a big market team like the Phils can afford a $30 million a year DH who is hitting below the Mendoza Line, leading baseball in strikeouts, failing miserably in clutch situations, slowing down the running game when he gets on base, and not being able to help out defensively, even occasionally. Another big market team with money to burn will gladly take a guy who hits a moonshot every 3 games, but that guy is a luxury the Phils can no longer afford if they ever want to get to the world series again.
Players who are making big bucks should be able to perform like Ohtani, Judge, and a healthy Mike Trout. They should be able to hit more than 30 homers a year, while batting over .300, stealing more than 30 bases, playing solid defense, and coming through in the clutch. Schwarber, Turner, and Harper are not doing that. Highly paid pitchers should be able to command games and go more than 5 innings every time out. Nola stopped doing that a few years ago.
The Phils started playing dominos when they released Castellanos and Walker. Thomson was the next to fall, but he won’t be the last.
Phillies fans are hilarious.
They were ready to make Dave Dombrowski Mayor or Governor when he came on Board and made key decisions that made the Phillies a World Series team his 1st year a playoffs team all the years he was in Phillie.
Now, they are saying he does not know baseball or how to build a team?!
Please!!!
Mattingly will light a fire under them and turn the team around. Either way, they are too talented a roster to stay down for long