Not the managerial firing article you thought you’d get, huh?
The Philadelphia Phillies, mired in their own woes, have fired manager Rob Thomson, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Don Mattingly is taking over as interim manager. The team confirmed the report.
Matt Marton-Imagn Images
Thomson becomes the second manager fired this early in the season in 2026, following Alex Cora‘s dismissal from the Red Sox. Bob Nightengale reports the Phillies actually offered Alex Cora the managerial job before offering Mattingly the interim role.
The Phillies sit at 9-19 to start the year, the same as the Mets. They carry similar woes as the Mets, too, with a poor offense at the bottom of the league in slugging, but their struggles are compounded with one of the worst performing pitching staffs in the league.
Thomson originally was made manager in the 2022 season, taking over the for fired Joe Girardi. Thomson led the Phillies’ turnaround and took the team to the postseason, ultimately winning the World Series. The Phillies now hope doing the same thing to Thomson that they did to Girardi will end with a similar result as it did four years prior.
