Phillies predicted to replace Rob Thomson with former NL Manager of the Year with 889 career wins originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Philadelphia Phillies are not in a good place right now, as they are enduring one of their worst stretches in recent years. While the Phillies are projected to be one of the top teams in the National League, they have now dropped seven straight games.
“The table was set for Philadelphia to finally bring its six-game losing skid to a halt. But on a night where the pitching staff continually played with fire, the Phillies eventually got burned while hopes of ending their funk went up in flames in a 7-4 loss,” MLB.com’s Casey Drottar wrote.
A start like this was not expected for Philadelphia. Even so, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has not lost faith in manager Rob Thomson.
“Dave Dombrowski is concerned about what is going on with the Philadelphia Phillies, but he said manager Rob Thomson is not on the hot seat despite the team's seven-game losing streak. Dombrowski, the Phillies' president of baseball operations, instead is focused on the team's overall play during an 8-15 start this season,” ESPN wrote.
However, if a change does eventually become necessary, Don Mattingly is already on the bench in Philadelphia.
“Middleton is very aware of what the Philadelphia fanbase feels and what the media is saying. This stretch, a six-game losing streak to go with an 8-14 record, is enough to reignite the narratives to fire manager Rob Thomson. There are no indications that Thomson is on the hot seat; they’ll want to give him, and especially the offense, time to sort itself out. The Phillies do, however, have a natural in-house replacement if Thomson is fired. Bench coach Don Mattingly, a highly respected former manager, would command immediate respect,” FanSided’s Robert Murray wrote.
Mattingly most recently managed the Miami Marlins, where he won National League Manager of the Year in 2020. Since then, he served as a bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays before joining the Phillies.
Mattingly has built a strong managerial résumé, accumulating 889 career wins. The Phillies have not lost faith in Thomson just yet, but if results do not improve, Mattingly would be a natural candidate to take over a struggling team.