After starting the season with an MLB-worst 9-19 record (tied with the Mets) and negative-54 run differential, the Philadelphia Phillies decided it was time for a change and fired manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday morning.
Don Mattingly will take over as interim manager with the task of turning around a team that has struggled mightily in every facet of the game, ranking 28th in runs scored and team ERA one month into the season.
Philadelphia’s move comes just days after the Boston Red Sox made the first big managerial change of the season, firing manager Alex Cora and five coaches.
Will changing managers salvage the Phillies’ season? What happened to Philly’s once-potent offense? And who are some long-term candidates for the job? MLB experts Bradford Doolittle, Buster Olney and Jesse Rogers weigh in.
The Phillies have made the playoffs four straight times under Thomson. Why would they make this move in April?
Olney: The decision was based on two reasons: (1) The Phillies, like the Mets and Red Sox, have underperformed, and the highly respected Thomson paid the price. (2) The availability of Alex Cora likely accelerated the Phillies’ managerial conversation -- and yes, the Phillies offered the job to Cora. But fresh off Cora’s ugly, surprising divorce with the Red Sox, he informed them he needs time with his family.
Don Mattingly has 12 years managing in the big leagues and yet he was given an “interim” tag by Philadelphia, which tells you that the light is still on for Cora -- whether it be in a month, in two months, or going into the 2027 season.
Rogers: The Phillies made this change for the same reason they made a similar move in June 2022, when they replaced Joe Girardi with Thomson: They’re looking for a different voice to spark them. The Phillies made the playoffs in that first season under Thomson. There is nothing to say the same can’t happen under Mattingly.
Mostly, though, their upcoming schedule and Zack Wheeler’s return are more likely to help than anything else. Thomson was good for that moment in time. Perhaps Mattingly will be for this one.
Doolittle: This is always the easiest lever to pull when a sinking team has fallen so short of expectations. The season is slipping away fast -- the Braves have already put 10½ games between themselves and the Phillies. Meanwhile, Philadelphia has nine of its next 13 at home (Giants, Athletics, Rockies) and the four away games are at Miami. The Phillies badly need to take advantage of this part of their schedule and apparently Dombrowski sees the move to Mattingly as the spark that can make this happen.
The Phillies’ offense has been one of the best in baseball in recent seasons. Why is the offense struggling so much?
Doolittle: It’s old and thin. This is what happens to top-heavy rosters that rely on the same core group for too long. The Phillies’ window is closing, if it’s not already shut altogether. There are only three league-average or better hitters on the roster right now and other than Brandon Marsh, two of the three are off to semi-disappointing starts.
Kyle Schwarber is still mashing but his overall numbers have regressed and that’s something that should have been baked into the Phillies’ plan. Bryce Harper has been fine, but fine is not the word you want associated with Bryce Harper, though it applied to the 2025 season as well. Maybe those two stars, as well as Trea Turner, get hot under Mattingly but even if they do, the Phillies have holes all over the place and a lackluster bench to boot.
Olney: To Brad’s point, there are a ton of questions among rival evaluators about whether this group will rebound, given that some are on the down sides of their respective careers. Can the Phillies reasonably expect that J.T. Realmuto’s offense improves after he is activated off the injured list? Bryce Harper is a future Hall of Famer, but could he get back to being an MVP candidate in 2026? Adolis Garcia has largely struggled offensively since the 2023 postseason; is he going to get better? Alec Bohm has had personal issues; how much are those weighing on him?
Rogers: Obviously, the lineup is getting older and can’t just rely on Turner, Harper and Schwarber. And the bottom of their lineup is a disaster. Collectively, hitters 6-9 have compiled an OPS of just .337 so far. It starts with Bohm and his meager .143 average with a .412 OPS. Justin Crawford is a rookie with upside but has produced a WRC+ of just 86 in the early going. Those star players near the top of the lineup need some help. And fast.
What can the Phillies expect under interim manager Don Mattingly?
Olney: They’ll play better; according to FanGraphs, their chances for making the playoffs are still around 40%, which makes sense given the quality of their starting pitching -- Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Andrew Painter, and now Zack Wheeler is back. Mattingly is very similar to Thomson in personality - even-keeled, experienced, never one to overreact. I don’t think the players will feel much of a difference.
Doolittle: Mattingly certainly has a much higher profile than Thomson but personality-wise, I’m not sure I see a clear distinction. From a game-strategy standpoint, maybe you’ll see a little more of an effort to manufacture runs.
Under Thomson, the Phillies are one of two teams that haven’t attempted to sacrifice this season. They lead the majors in successful steal percentage (89%) but are just 24th in steal attempt percentage (4.8%).
Mattingly has always tended to adjust these things according to his roster, and of course the Phillies are constrained by who they have and what they can do. But only four teams have been more reliant on homers for scoring, so there might be some things Mattingly can try. But let’s face it -- it comes down to Harper, Schwarber and Turner hitting up to past standards.
Rogers: Perhaps a different atmosphere in the manager’s office will produce a different vibe at the plate. It’s not impossible. Mostly, Mattingly needs to keep a steady ship as his pitchers get healthier.
That’s the key to a Philly comeback over the next five months. Just don’t fall further behind. A shake-up could provide enough of a spark to get Philly moving in the right direction. The Phillies can’t get it all back in the standings in one day. Mattingly needs to relay that message while, of course, asking for urgency at the same time. Not an easy task.
Who are some long-term candidates for the job in addition to Mattingly?
Doolittle: The obvious name is the other manager who has been canned this season, ex-Boston skipper Alex Cora, and it was reported that Cora was offered the job (and turned it down) before Philly tapped Mattlingly.
Dombrowski hired Cora in 2018 before the Red Sox’s championship season and Cora should be a hot commodity if/when he decides to pursue another managerial gig. If the Phillies respond well to Mattingly though, you’d have to think he’ll get the interim label removed, especially since his son Preston is the Phillies’ GM under Dombrowski. Maybe that changes if Cora comes calling after the season but that’s a problem the Phillies very much hope to have.
Olney: This is Cora’s job in the future -- I don’t think it’s a question of if, but when.
Rogers: This isn’t the time to try out one of those young, new-age manager types. The coach from an SEC school won’t be taking over the Phillies anytime soon, so Alex Cora fits the profile as much as anyone.
There have now been two high-profile manager changes this month. Which manager could be on the hot seat next?
Doolittle: I feel for the guy, but if the Mets don’t start hanging up some W’s, and lots of them, very soon, it’s hard to see how Carlos Mendoza makes it to Memorial Day. Joe Espada in Houston is another skipper with a short track record leading an expected contender that has so far flopped. If the Astros and Phillies are both in the market for a manager after the season, it’ll be interesting to see how hard each goes after Cora given his associations with Dombrowski and the Astros.
Olney: The Mets don’t want to fire Mendoza; I don’t think either David Stearns nor Steve Cohen believes that he’s responsible for the team’s abysmal performance. It’s on the veterans who make up the everyday lineup that has been so awful, ranking 30th among 30 teams in so many categories. But at this stage, with Mendoza in the last year of his deal, the Mets might start to think about making changes for the sake of change.
Rogers: Mendoza is the one and only answer to this question unless Jerry Dipoto gets antsy in Seattle or Jim Crane does the same in Houston. Crane is a wild card so perhaps Mendoza and Joe Espada have similar odds - but an underachieving Mets manager seems to be a no-brainer.
