The Phillies fire Rob Thomson

The start of the 2026 season has been a disaster for the Philadelphia Phillies, who are currently languishing at the bottom of the National League East with a record of nine wins and 19 losses, and have won just one of their last ten games. All this with a payroll of $284 million.

And as is almost always the case, especially early in the season, it's of course the manager who takes the fall, with representatives from the City of Brotherly Love announcing this morning the firing of Rob Thomson.

The Philadelphia Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson, sources told ESPN. Don Mattingly will take over as interim manager. First on the news was @MattGelb.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 28, 2026

However, after being eliminated in the Division Series by the 2025 Fall Classic champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, President Dave Dombrowski made few changes to a lineup centered around the left side of the plate.

This brings to a close a nearly four-year tenure with Thompson at the helm of the team, a period during which the Pennsylvania-based franchise reached the playoffs every season but was eliminated in the first round in each of the past two fall seasons.

Don Mattingly, the former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays and skipper of the Miami Marlins, has been named interim manager of the Phillies at least for the remainder of the season.

Preston and Don Mattingly become the first father/son GM/MGR duo in #MLB history, which is pretty cool even if it's just a stopgap until Alex Cora is eventually hired later this season or in the offseason. #Phillies

— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) April 28, 2026

Even though things could change, this means that Alex Cora, who led the Boston Red Sox to the World Series title in 2018, will not be Dombrowski's man, as was the case with the Massachusetts team. It may be Cora's decision (or not), as he'll be handsomely paid to sit back and relax for the next 18 months.

Getting back to Thomson, he saved a struggling Phillies team in 2022, taking over from Joe Girardi and leading the team—which had a 22-29 record—to a World Series appearance.

The 62-year-old will have posted a record of 355 wins to 270 losses at the helm of the Phillies.

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