Phillies fire manager Rob Thomson with team off to ugly 9-19 start

Rob Thomson rescued a flailing Philadelphia Phillies team in 2022, taking over for the fired Joe Girardi and leading the underachieving club to a World Series berth.

Now, the Phillies are hoping getting rid of Thomson is the cure for what ails this year's disappointing club.

The Phillies fired Thompson Tuesday, April 28 after a 9-19 start that mired the $284 million roster in last place in the NL East. That caps a nearly four-year run for Thompson, a span in which the club made the playoffs every season yet backtracked from pennant winner to NLCS loser to first-round exits the past two seasons.

Don Mattingly, the former Miami Marlins manager, was named the Phillies' interim skipper.

Thomson, 62, had a 355-270 record at the helm of the Phillies, taking over after Joe Girardi was fired following a 22-29 start to the 2022 season. Yet after an NLDS exit at the hands of the champion Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025, president Dave Dombrowski made few changes to a lefty-heavy lineup that has scuffled in this opening month of the season.

And a pitching staff has been waylaid by poor performances from the since-released Taijuan Walker, Jesus Luzardo and $172 million man Aaron Nola.

Thomson is the second manager fired in four days, joining Boston's Alex Cora.

Now, Cora - who along with Dombrowski led the Red Sox to the 2018 World Series title - becomes a prime candidate to replace Thomson.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Phillies manager Rob Thomson fired: Can team turn around 2026 standings?