Phillies' Rob Thomson's Hot Seat Addressed by Dave Dombrowski amid 7-Game Losing Streak
Even though the Philadelphia Phillies are in the midst of their longest losing streak since 2019, Rob Thomson's job doesn't appear to be in jeopardy right now.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters prior to Tuesday's game there have been no discussions about making a managerial change:
"Put it this way. We're not. But if we were, that's not something we've ever shared. Rob Thomson's been a good manager for us since [2022]. We always look at everything that's taking place, but no.
"Generally, I've said about 40 games of the season is when you start to say, 'OK, where are we shaping up? Guys have had enough time.' But there's no magic in that number. Sometimes it's a little bit more; sometimes it's a little bit less. They're not happy with their performances. Shoot, I'm responsible for putting the club on the field, so I'm not happy with the way it's going. But I think you just balance that all the time on a daily basis."
The Phillies have lost seven straight entering play on Wednesday, though it has almost flown under the radar simply because they play in the same division as a New York Mets team that's in the midst of a 12-game losing skid.
Philadelphia entered this season with the fifth-best odds to win the World Series and third among NL teams, behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mets.
Very little has gone right for the Phillies to this point. They rank 28th in MLB in both runs scored and ERA. Their starting pitching, which has been the primary strength for the club over the previous four years, is ahead of only the Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros in ERA.
Some of their pitching woes can be attributed to bad luck. Their rotation still has the third-highest strikeout rate in MLB with 10.13 per nine innings, but their batting average on balls in play is a robust .382.
For comparison, the Rockies had the worst BABIP in MLB last year at .331.
The biggest concern is the lineup because their two highest-profile players are hitting well. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber both have an OPS+ over 140. Their third-best hitter right now is 22-year-old rookie Justin Crawford.
Trea Turner is only at 75, so you would expect that to jump up with a bigger sample size. Alec Bohm is currently the least-valuable offensive player in MLB, though he has a track record of being slightly above-average with the bat.
Even with some positive regression, though, there are plenty of holes in the lineup that don't have an obvious fix. Bryson Stott, J.T. Realmuto and Adolis GarcĂa have been trending in the wrong direction for awhile.
Thomson, who replaced Joe Girardi as manager midway through the 2022 season, is easily the most successful skipper the Phillies have had since Charlie Manuel was fired in 2013. His .571 winning percentage is the best in Phillies history among managers who held the job for at least 300 games.
The Phillies have made the playoffs every year under Thomson, reaching the World Series in 2022 and NLCS in 2023. They lost in the NLDS in each of the last two years.
