Another disappointing team has made a managerial change. The Philadelphia Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson, the team announced Tuesday. Bench coach Don Mattingly will serve as interim manager through the end of the season. The move comes a few days after the Boston Red Sox fired longtime manager Alex Cora and most of his coaching staff.
Thomson is out after a 9-19 start in which the Phillies fell 10 games below .500 for the first time since 2017. After a 1-3 start, the Phillies won five of their next six games to push their record to 6-4. Then, the losing started, including four of six before a 10-game losing streak that left them duking it out for last place in the NL East with the similarly struggling New York Mets.
Thomson, 62, took over as Phillies manager after Joe Girardi was fired in June 2022. The Phillies that season went 65-46 under Thomson, securing the third and final National League wild-card spot. From there, they won their first NL pennant since 2009 but ultimately lost the World Series to the Houston Astros in six games.
The following season, the Phillies turned a wild-card spot into an NLCS run and then won the NL East title in back-to-back years. The 96 wins last season were their most in a season since 2011. Thomson received Manager of the Year votes in 2022, 2024, and 2025. He finished third in the voting just last year.
As manager, Thomson made the playoffs four times in his first four seasons. He won two division titles and a pennant. He’s 355-270 overall. The Phillies signed Thomson to a contract extension through the 2027 season in December, so they fired him only 28 games into his new contract.
It won’t be long until speculation about Cora landing with the Phillies begins, even if not until the offseason. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski originally hired Cora to manage the Red Sox in October 2017 and the two won the World Series together in 2018. They’re said to remain close.
Mattingly, 65, has an 889-950 career managerial record with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2011-15) and Miami Marlins (2016-22). He spent the 2023-25 as bench coach with the Toronto Blue Jays and was part of their AL pennant-winning coaching staff last year.
Philadelphia also promoted third base coach Dusty Wathan to bench coach. Triple-A manager Anthony Contreras has been promoted to third base coach.
Preston Mattingly, Don Mattingly’s son, is Philadelphia’s general manager under Dombrowski.
