Phillies Make Shocking Manager Decision After Postseason Flameout

After a tremendous 95-win regular season that saw them win the NL East for the first time in 13 years, the Philadelphia Phillies had an early exit in the MLB playoffs, losing in four games to the New York Mets in the NLDS.

It was an unfortunate ending for a Phillies team with so much talent on paper but couldn’t produce on the field when it mattered the most. 

That said, with the Phillies losing in the NLDS after falling short in the NLCS last season, some fans weren’t pleased with manager Rob Thomson. Thomson had his contract extended after the 2023 season despite the Phillies losing in seven games to Arizona, keeping him in Philadelphia until after the 2025 season.

On Tuesday, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced that Thomson’s contract was extended through 2026 and that the entire coaching staff is returning next season, per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

In his three years as the Phillies manager, Thomson has led Philadelphia to the postseason each year and has a record of 250-185.

Based on how the Phillies fared in the playoffs, it was unlikely Dombrowski would move on from Thomson. However, the fanbase thought the coaching staff would see a change such as the team parting ways with hitting coach Kevin Long.

The fans and media heavily criticized the Phillies’ approach at the plate during the four-game NLDS against the Mets. With their poor performance at the plate, some fans wanted to see the team let go of Long.

But Dombrowski wants to run it back with this coaching staff for at least one more year to see if they can’t fix things and get back to the World Series in 2025.

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