PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies issued a vote of confidence in the club’s direction despite another disappointing postseason exit by extending manager Rob Thomson’s contract by a year and retaining all of his coaches.
Thomson, whose contract was set to expire following the 2025 season, now has a deal through 2026. The manager lobbied for his staff to return, and Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski agreed.
Dombrowski preached the status quo Tuesday in his end-of-the-season news conference. That does not preclude the Phillies from making changes to their roster. They will, although Dombrowski declined to reveal many of his cards in mid-October — as expected.
But they opted for continuity in the voices guiding the whole thing.
“They did lead us to 95 wins,” Dombrowski said. “They’ve been with us for a couple of years. A lot of cases, three years, and some beyond. that. They’re very efficient. They do their jobs well. We have a good manager. They work well with the manager.”
The Phillies had never debated Thomson’s status. In Dombrowski’s mind, it was important to avoid any potential speculation by extending Thomson another year.
“To me, it was pretty simple in that regard,” Dombrowski said. “Anytime you have a disappointing finish, which we did, it’s hard to put that on their backs in that case. We all share collectively in what happened. Putting it on any of their individual backs, I don’t think was the right thing to do.”
The Phillies have made the postseason in each of Thomson’s three years as manager. They have been eliminated one round sooner every year. Thomson’s .575 winning percentage is the highest of any manager in Phillies history and fifth in Major League Baseball since he was named interim manager on June 3, 2022.
“This is the only place I want to be,” Thomson, 61, said. “This will be my last stop.”
(Photo: Jess Rapfogel / Getty Images)
