Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Philadelphia Phillies have dismissed their manager following a league-worst start that jeopardizes their postseason hopes.
- Interim leadership has been appointed while the front office prepares for a pivotal search to revitalize the team.
- Several experienced candidates with varied backgrounds and successful track records are emerging as potential successors.
Amid a league-worst 9-19 start that may have already eliminated them from the NL East race, it felt like only a matter of time before someone took the fall for the Philadelphia Phillies. That someone is almost always the manager, and sure enough, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported on Tuesday morning that Philly had axed Rob Thomson after parts of five seasons and 625 total games in the head job. Per Gelb, bench coach Don Mattingly has been promoted to manager on an interim basis.
Whether Thomson was the primary cause of what's gone wrong in Philadelphia this season is almost beside the point. After three straight postseason disappointments, the Phillies put all their chips on one more run with this aging core; the stakes are impossibly high for this team this season, and something had to change before it was too late (if it's not too late already).
Mattingly will now be charged with turning things around, and given the talent on this roster and his prior experience managing the Dodgers and Marlins, it's not out of the question that he takes the job and runs with it. More likely, though, is that this is a lost year in Philly, one that triggers some real soul-searching — and a new full-time face in the dugout. Here are some names that might be able to resuscitate what increasingly feels like a lost era.
Alex Cora, former Red Sox manager
If you've got a World Series ring, you immediately jump to the top of any list like this. That Cora won that ring with the Red Sox in 2018, when current Phillies boss Dave Dombrowski was Boston's president of baseball operations, only adds more fuel to the fire here. And according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Dombrowski offered Cora the job in Philly almost as soon as he was fired in Boston — even before the decision to fire Thomson.
It's clear that Dombrowski still thinks highly of Cora, and presumably the feeling is mutual. Cora had no reason to accept the offer in the middle of a dysfunctional season, but when the dust settles this winter — you know, assuming Dombrowski is still around by then — he figures to be No. 1 on the wish list.
Rocco Baldelli, former Twins manager
But let's say a better job comes open, or Cora just doesn't feel like getting back into business with Dombrowski while the latter is on the hot seat. Baldelli figures to be a hot commodity himself next winter after taking the 2026 season off following his firing from the Twins.
Baldelli took the fall with Minnesota, but it's hard to hold that too much against him, especially considering what we now know about the Pohlads' ownership. He managed to win three AL Central titles over seven seasons at the helm, and while the postseason track record wasn't great, he also never lost a series in which his team was considered the favorite. He's known as a man capable of blending front-office analytics with player management, and he figures to get at least one more chance as a big-league manager.
Brandon Hyde, former Orioles manager
Maybe Hyde wasn't the problem in Baltimore after all? Things haven't gone much better under Craig Albernaz so far, and he did guide them to two straight postseason berths. Granted, both of those ended in early exits, but it's not his fault that his team forgot how to pitch in 2023 ALDS and then forgot how to hit in the 2024 Wild Card series. He's got a lot of experience, and he's managed through both rebuilds and windows of contention.
David Ross, former Cubs manager
Ross' overall record in four years with the Cubs doesn't look like much, but it's also worth remembering that he didn't have nearly as much talent to work with as Craig Counsell does currently. He tends to be a bit more old-school — sort of like Thomson, really — and the in-game decision-making could sometimes leave you scratching your head, but he's got a wealth of experience as both a player and a coach and he's generally beloved by clubhouses wherever he goes. He'll get a second chance somewhere; don't count him out.
Ryan Flaherty, Cubs bench coach
This is Flaherty's fourth year as a big-league bench coach, first with the Padres and now with Cubs under Counsell. That's an enticing coaching tree — there's a reason Counsell is the highest-paid manager in the sport — and he figures to get a lot of buzz as an up-and-coming star in the profession. Like a lot of candidates on this list, he blends almost a decade of MLB playing experience with a familiarity with front-office analytical tools.
Brad Ausmus, Yankees bench coach
Ausmus and Dombrowski go way back; the latter gave the former his first shot at being a big-league manager with the Detroit Tigers back in 2014. Dombrowski was fired the next season, while Ausmus stayed on for a couple more years before being replaced following the 2017 season.
He's now in New York, where he's in his third season as Yankees bench coach under Aaron Boone. It feels like he's due for another opportunity at some point soon, and why wouldn't Dombrowski go back to a familiar face — one who's been involved in a lot of winning over the years?
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