Why Phillies Executive Dave Dombrowski Decided It Was Time to Fire Manager Rob Thomson

The Phillies are off to a rough 9–19 start on the 2026 season, so the team's president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski decided to make a change by firing manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday.

Shortly after the decision was announced, Dombrowski sat down for a press conference to explain why the Phillis organization felt like it was time for Thomson to go following three-plus seasons in Philadelphia. He started off by emphasizing that the team isn't "blaming" Thomson for their poor start.

"This is not a blame game. This is not that. We are, collectively, not doing well," Dombrowski said.

VERDUCCI: Rob Thomson Had to Go in Philadelphia

Ultimately, the organization felt like the team needed a "different voice" to lead them as it clearly wasn't working with Thomson a month into the season already. However, the first line of this next quote is leaving fans scratching their heads-It's not a great look for Thomson if he truly didn't know what was wrong with his own team, if that's what Dombrowski meant.

"Rob was the first to admit that he doesn't know what's really going on," Dombrowski said. "He's a little bit surprised on how we performed ... but I just thought at this time was the right time to get a different voice with some different direction with a lot of the common-of course, Don's been a part of our staff here all along. So he's got a pulse of his feelings and how we can perhaps improve a little bit here a little bit there. Just a different, overall, as anybody would be coming in.

"But I think it was just that we need a different voice in there. Few years ago, four years ago, he was the right voice for us with the club that we had. There was no question about it and he's done it very well. I think we needed a different voice with this group where we are right now."

That "different voice" for the time being will be bench coach Don Mattingly. He joined the Phillies during the offseason after spending three seasons with the Blue Jays. His son Preston is the general manager in Philadelphia. Perhaps Mattingly will be able to better figure out what's going wrong with the Phillies as manager.

APSTEIN: Phillies' Turn to Familiar Playbook Is Unlikely to Work

Dombrowski comments on reaching out to Alex Cora

The Red Sox fired manager Alex Cora and various other members of the coaching staff on Saturday night after starting the season 10–17. When Thomson was let go on Tuesday, rumors circulated stating that Dombrowski had reached out to Cora about taking over the role in Philly.

Was this true? Yes. Dombrowski admitted to talking to Cora about possibly taking over the Phillies. The two talked on Saturday night and Sunday morning, but ultimately, Cora said no to the role. Here's what else the executive had to say about Cora.

"Yeah, I did. I talked to Alex. We never got down to the nuts and bolts of things, but I did talk to him," Dombrowski said. "... I talked to him on Sunday morning. We talked about potentially taking the job. I thought-I had told him-I'd really come to the conclusion at that point that if he took it, I was going to make a change. And I thought that he might take it. But as time went on over the next day, into Monday morning, it was apparent from his perspective that he wanted to take time with his family. And it wasn't because of pay, it wasn't cause he's paid through the next year. But he just felt that he wanted, at this point, to be a father first and foremost. And so that's what he had decided."

It sounds like Cora doesn't plan to take another managerial position this season. He reiterated what Dombrowski said in his presser when speaking to The New York Post about his decision to decline the Phillies offer.

"I accepted to be a full-time dad," Cora texted the Post.

We'll see whether Dombrowski and Cora still have interest in working together when the 2026 season is over. The Phillies will likely still be looking for a full-time manager then, and maybe Cora will be done with having downtime away from the dugout.

More MLB from Sports Illustrated

• White Sox Rookie Munetaka Murakami Is Making Everyone Look Silly While Setting MLB Records
• Rob Thomson Had to Go in Philadelphia
• Phillies' Turn to Familiar Playbook Is Unlikely to Work
• Rob Thomson's Firing Proves Even Top MLB Managers Have a Short Leash Now

This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Phillies Executive Dave Dombrowski Decided It Was Time to Fire Manager Rob Thomson.

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This story was originally published April 28, 2026 at 4:51 PM.