Rob Thomson has been fired by the Philadelphia Phillies, according to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb. The decision comes after a woeful 9-19 start to the season, where the team is tied with the New York Mets for the worst record in MLB.
Don Mattingly has been named interim manager through the rest of the season. Mattingly has 12 years of managing experience, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011-2015 and the Miami Marlins from 2016-2022. He owns a .483 winning percentage with an 889-950 record.
Dusty Wathan has been promoted from third base coach to bench coach, and Triple-A Lehigh Valley manager Anthony Contreras has been added to the major league staff, serving as the interim third base coach.
The Phillies have underperformed by a wide margin through the first 28 games of the season, sitting in the basement of the NL East, 10.5 games behind the leading Atlanta Braves, after losing two of three to the Braves to close out a 1-6 road trip.
As is the case with underperforming teams, Thomson only bears so much of the blame for the lack of production across the board.
Offensively, the Phillies have the second-lowest team OPS (.656) and team batting average (.219), fourth-lowest slugging percentage (.362) and have scored the third-fewest runs (102).
Aside from Bryce Harper, the entire lineup has struggled.
Kyle Schwarber, who signed a five-year, $150 million contract prior to the season, leads the team with nine home runs, but is hitting .196. Alec Bohm has the lowest OPS amongst qualified hitters at .412 while dealing with off-field legal issues with his parents. Trea Turner has an OPS below .700 and is hitting .230. Adolis García, the replacement for Nick Castellanos, is hitting .230/.304/.380 with a .684 OPS and has a 27.8% strikeout rate.
J.T. Realmuto, one of the lone right-handed hitters who was producing, is on the IL. Backup catchers Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs are a combined 6-for-45 (.133)
The team doesn’t have a true cleanup hitter with Bohm’s struggles, forcing rookie Félix Reyes, who started the season in Triple-A, into that role. He is hitting .167 in five games. Rookie Justin Crawford got off to a hot start this season, but is just 4-for-his-last-34 over the last 10 games.
The starting pitching, which was expected to be the strength of the team, similar to last season, has been a major disappointment as well.
Outside of Cristopher Sánchez, the rest of the starting rotation has struggled. Jesus Luzardo inked a five-year, $135 million contract extension and owns a 6.91 ERA, the worst mark of all qualified starting pitchers. Aaron Nola has an ERA of 6.03, and rookie Andrew Painter has yielded a 5.25 ERA in his first five big league appearances. They cut Taijuan Walker last week after another poor start, finishing with a 9.13 ERA in five appearances, with four being starts.
The Phillies have yet to have a starter complete seven innings in a game this season.
The bullpen has been marred with injuries as well. Jhoan Duran, Jonathan Bowlan and Zach Pop are on the IL, Tanner Banks has regressed from last season, and Jose Alvarado has a 7.45 ERA in 13 appearances.
With all of that, the Phillies have dropped 15 of their last 18 games.
Thomson, who some fans view as too laid back, took over the reins after the team fired Joe Girardi in the 2022 season after a 22-29 start to the campaign.
Thomson led the Phillies to a National League Pennant and their first World Series appearance since 2009 that season and made the postseason each of the three full seasons he was manager, posting consecutive 90-plus win campaigns during that stretch.
He finishes with a 355-270 record, good for a .568 winning percentage and second-best mark in franchise history with a minimum of 250 games. His 355 wins are the 10th-most in franchise history.
