Phillies name former Blue Jays bench boss Don Mattingly as interim manager following Thomson firing
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The Philadelphia Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson, and named former Toronto Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly as his interim replacement.
There’s a major shakeup in Philadelphia. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that the the Philadelphia Phillies have fired Canadian skipper Rob Thomson.
Bench coach Don Mattingly is taking over as interim manager.
The Phillies have fired manager Rob Thomson, sources told The Athletic. Don Mattingly will be interim manager.
Philadelphia is the second struggling big-market team to make an early managerial change.
The Red Sox dismissed Alex Cora and much of their coaching staff over the weekend.
The Phillies didn’t overhaul the coaching staff to the same extent, but it’s a major change nonetheless.
They’ll hope it’ll light a fire under an underperforming team that is out to a 9-19 start, tying them with the Mets at the bottom of the National League.
Given the timing of the dismissals, there’ll naturally be some speculation about Alex Cora as a candidate for the Philadelphia position.
Phils president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was leading the Red Sox’s front office when Boston first hired Cora in 2017. The Sox won the World Series a year later.
However, According to Bob Nightengale, the Phillies already offered the job to Cora but the former Boston skipper passed, citing a desire to spend time with family.
Alex Cora was offered the Philadelphia Phillies' managerial job before Don Mattingly, but declined. He has decided to spend time with his family.
Cora’s deal with Boston paid him upwards of $7MM per season through 2027, so he’s well positioned financially to take some time away if that’s indeed his preference.
Phillies decided a change was needed given the disappointing first month
It ends Thomson’s three-plus year run leading the club, one that was highly successful overall.
Thomson was initially hired on an interim basis when the Phils dismissed Joe Girardi in June 2022.
He took over a team that was seven games below .500 and 12 back in the NL East.
They went 65-46 the rest of the way to snag the NL’s final playoff spot, then tore through the Senior Circuit playoff field to win the pennant.
Even after they dropped a six-game World Series at the hands of the Astros, it was an easy call for the Phillies to commit to Thomson as the full-time skipper.
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