Phillies manager candidates: Six names to know after Rob Thomson firing
After Rob Thomson was fired, Don Mattingly was named interim manager. Here are six real contenders—plus what the Phillies should prioritize next.
Philadelphia’s dugout didn’t get much time to breathe after another uneven stretch, and the decision followed quickly: Rob Thomson was fired as the Phillies chase a way out of a season that’s been hard to explain.
The Phillies move came with Matt Gelb reporting the club dismissed Thomson after parts of five seasons and 625 games, and it’s Don Mattingly who’s stepping in as interim manager.. Philadelphia sits at a league-worst 9-19 start, and the way this roster was supposed to compete has looked increasingly out of sync with the results.. Whether Thomson was the root cause matters less than what the franchise is trying to do now: stabilize a team that had postseason disappointments before, and needs a new pattern of progress before the window closes.
Mattingly, already a bench coach with managerial experience from the Dodgers and Marlins, will be asked to do something immediate and something longer-term at the same time.. In the short term, it’s about getting the clubhouse to buy into day-to-day decisions—lineups, bullpen usage, game plans—while the team tries not to spiral.. In the long term, Philadelphia’s front office will likely treat this as a reset moment, because teams rarely move like this unless they feel time is slipping away.
Why the next manager has to fix more than “energy”
Mattingly could get the interim tag and still become the answer, but it’s also plausible the Phillies view this as a real transition year.. If that’s the case, they’ll want a candidate who can both compete in the present and build a roadmap for the next cycle—whether that means changing how games are managed or how players are developed and utilized.
Six Phillies manager candidates to watch
Alex Cora, former Red Sox manager
Cora’s biggest advantage is credibility.. A World Series ring isn’t just résumé decoration—it signals experience in high-pressure baseball, including the kind of postseason decision-making that Philadelphia has struggled with in recent years.. Reports around the job market suggest Dave Dombrowski was interested in Cora even before the Thomson move was made.. If Dombrowski remains in place come winter, Cora is likely to surface as a top priority.. The fit is also about culture: Cora has a reputation for adapting with purpose, not just repeating what worked elsewhere.
Rocco Baldelli, former Twins manager
Baldelli is the kind of candidate teams consider when they want modern baseball without abandoning clubhouse management.. He took the Twins’ job through a stretch that included three AL Central titles in seven seasons, and while his playoff results weren’t dominant, he didn’t lose a series his team entered as the favorite.. After taking the 2026 season off following his firing in Minnesota, he could be one of the more attractive next hires.. His profile—melding analytics with day-to-day player control—plays well for organizations that want structure and accountability.
Brandon Hyde, former Orioles manager
Hyde’s case is complicated in the way veteran managers often are.. His Baltimore teams reached the postseason twice in a row, but the exits were early, and fans naturally connected the dots to coaching.. Still, it’s hard to ignore his experience navigating both rebuilds and contention windows.. If Philadelphia wants someone steady who’s coached through different kinds of rosters and expectations, Hyde fits.. The question is whether his approach will feel fresh enough for a Phillies clubhouse that may already be searching for answers.
David Ross, former Cubs manager
Ross might not have the same headline résumé as the others, but his candidacy rests on something Philadelphia has needed: proven experience with managing limited resources.. With the Cubs, Ross worked with less top-end talent than the organization’s more recent, Counsell-led peaks, and that context matters when evaluating record alone.. He’s often described as more traditional in decision style, and that can divide opinions because it can look stubborn when outcomes swing the other way.. But it also can be a stabilizing force—especially in a team that’s already seen too much uncertainty.
Ryan Flaherty, Cubs bench coach
Flaherty represents the “coaching tree” route, and that path is always popular when teams need someone who’s close to analytics and also respected in the daily grind.. In his fourth big-league bench coach season—first with the Padres and now with the Cubs—he’s been operating within a staff that has a strong reputation under Craig Counsell.. For Philadelphia, a bench coach from a high-performing managerial system can be a way to get a newer perspective without sacrificing baseball fundamentals.
Brad Ausmus, Yankees bench coach
Ausmus has a manager-friendly connection to Philadelphia’s decision-making circle through Dombrowski.. The two have worked together dating back to Ausmus’s early opportunity with the Tigers, and even though that tenure didn’t last long, it shows Dombrowski was willing to put him on the managerial track.. Ausmus is now in his third season as the Yankees’ bench coach under Aaron Boone, which matters because the Yankees are a different kind of pressure environment—one that demands composure.. If Philadelphia goes looking for a familiar relationship with proven professionalism, Ausmus fits the bill.
What comes next for the Phillies—and for fans
Either way, Mattingly’s interim stretch will matter.. Not necessarily because it guarantees a future job, but because it will reveal what the organization wants from leadership right now—calm, urgency, experimentation, or strict accountability.. And with that 9-19 start hanging over everything, the choice the Phillies make next won’t just change lineups.. It will signal whether the team believes the window is still open—or whether they’re ready to admit that the era has shifted.