Often, managers become the scapegoats for poorly-constructed teams missing the requisite talent to contend. Occasionally, though, an in-season change can spark a speedy turnaround.
In 2022, that’s exactly what happened when Rob Thomson took over for Joe Girardi after Philadelphia’s 22-29 start and went 65-46 the rest of the way, steering the Phillies to their first playoff appearance in 11 years and their first World Series appearance in 13 years.
Four years later, though, Thomson now finds himself in Girardi’s fateful position.
The Phillies, owners of a 9-19 record and the worst run differential in Major League Baseball, have fired Thomson, the man who guided them back to relevance after a decade of disappointment and amassed the highest winning percentage (.568) in the team’s modern era.
They reached the postseason in each of their four seasons with Thomson at the helm, but after making it to the World Series in 2022, they got bounced in the NLCS in 2023 and failed to advance out of the NLDS in 2024 and 2025.
(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Now, the Phillies are hoping that Don Mattingly can rescue their 2026 season the same way Thomson did four years ago.
What’s next for the Phillies?
Just three days ago, Alex Cora was fired in Boston and immediately became one of the hottest names available. So it’s no surprise that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who hired Cora eight years ago and watched him guide the Red Sox to a World Series championship in his first year as the club’s manager, reached out to fill the Phillies’ vacancy.
This time, however, Cora declined Dombrowski’s offer. Cora was in the second year of a three-year, $21.75 million extension in Boston and, at least right now, appears content to sit out the rest of this year. He could become an option in Philadelphia again next season.
For now, the Phillies have pivoted to their bench coach, promoting Mattingly to interim manager “through the end of the 2026 season,” according to a team statement. Third-base coach Dusty Wathan will take over Mattingly’s role as bench coach, and Triple-A Lehigh Valley manager Anthony Contreras will assume Wathan’s role as third-base coach.
Dombrowski still clearly believes in his roster, which has the fifth-highest payroll in the sport, despite its ineptitude to this point. The Phillies have dropped 15 of their last 18 games and at one point lost 10 straight. They’re 3-13 against teams over .500, and problems persist everywhere. Their offense ranks 29th in OPS, their pitching staff ranks 28th in ERA and their defense ranks last in defensive runs saved.
Can a new manager solve all of those problems? Probably not, but it’s also hard to believe this team — which returned a nucleus of players that won 96 games last year — is suddenly the worst in the sport.
On offense, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh have all been well above league-average hitters. The right-handed hitters on the team, however, have collectively tallied a .587 OPS, the second-worst mark in MLB. As a team, the Phillies have been the worst offense against left-handed pitchers by a wide margin. It’s hard to envision this team accomplishing much when Trea Turner, Bryson Stott and Adolis Garcia are all well below league-average hitters and when Alec Bohm is the worst qualified hitter in the sport, as he is right now.
(Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
But you don’t get the worst run differential in MLB simply with an underperforming lineup.
A starting pitching staff that many expected to be among the better units in baseball collectively sports a 5.80 ERA, the worst mark in MLB. Mattingly — whose son, Preston is the team’s general manager — will need a lot more out of that group, which just got Zack Wheeler back from injury and should be better than this. Opponents have a .354 batting average on balls in play against Phillies pitchers, a staggering figure that has to regress at some point.
What’s next in the NL East race?
(Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
Just one month in, the Braves are running away in the NL East. They’re 20-9 and, stunningly, the only team in the division with a winning record.
After 28 games, the Phillies are already 10.5 games back of first place. Luckily for them, the Mets have been equally incompetent. FanGraphs still gives the Phillies a 32.5% chance to make the playoffs, and plenty of time remains for them to at least contend for a wild-card spot, though the decision to run back basically the same roster with its aging core looks inauspicious at the moment.
There’s not a lot of help coming on the farm — top prospect Aidan Miller hasn’t played all year due to a back issue — so it’s on the players in uniform to get right while there’s still time. The track record of the Phillies’ top players would suggest better days ahead.
What’s next in MLB’s coaching carousel?
It’s a rarity to see any manager fired in April, let alone two. But with a number of supposed contenders dealing with unexpected early-season turmoil, front offices are getting antsy.
With Cora and Thomson out, the two hottest seats now belong to Carlos Mendoza and Joe Espada, who are leading underperforming clubs while on expiring deals. Mendoza’s Mets are 9-19 and in a share for last place with the Phillies in the NL East. Espada’s Astros are 11-18 and in last place in the AL West. They’ll both need to get the train back on the tracks expeditiously to quiet the noise.
(Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Beyond those two, Matt Quatraro’s Royals are 11-17 and Dan Wilson’s Mariners are 14-16 a year after making it to the ALCS. Both teams, however, have played better recently.
While many teams choose to hire from within when they make in-season managerial changes, among the top candidates available for teams seeking a new voice are Cora, Albert Pujols, Carlos Beltrán, Yadier Molina, Brandon Hyde, David Ross, Rocco Baldelli, Omar López and George Lombard.
