Phillies fire manager Rob Thomson with team off to ugly 9-19 start
Phillies fire manager Rob Thomson with team off to ugly 9-19 start
Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY Tue, April 28, 2026 at 3:05 PM UTC
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Rob Thomson rescued a flailing Philadelphia Phillies team in 2022, taking over for the fired Joe Girardi and leading the underachieving club to a World Series berth.
Now, the Phillies are hoping getting rid of Thomson is the cure for what ails this year's disappointing club.
The Phillies fired Thomson Tuesday, April 28 after a 9-19 start that mired the $284 million roster in last place in the NL East. That caps a nearly four-year run for Thomson, a span in which the club made the playoffs every season yet backtracked from pennant winner to NLCS loser to first-round exits the past two seasons.
Don Mattingly, the former Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers manager, was named the Phillies' interim skipper for the remainder of the 2026 season.
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Thomson, 62, had a 355-270 record at the helm of the Phillies, taking over after Joe Girardi was fired following a 22-29 start to the 2022 season. Yet after an NLDS exit at the hands of the champion Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025, president Dave Dombrowski made few changes to a lefty-heavy lineup that has scuffled in this opening month of the season.
And a pitching staff has been waylaid by poor performances from the since-released Taijuan Walker (9.13 ERA), Jesus Luzardo (6.91) and $172 million man Aaron Nola (6.03).
Thomson is the second manager fired in four days, joining Boston's Alex Cora.
Now, Cora - who along with Dombrowski led the Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title - becomes a prime candidate to replace Thomson permanently. The market for his services is only now just opening up.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Phillies manager Rob Thomson fired: Can team turn around 2026 standings?
Source: “AOL Sports”
