Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) looks on before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
LOS ANGELES — There's a danger as a manager in having teams that consistently make the postseason but aren't able to get over the hump and win a World Series.
In three-and-a-half years as Phillies manager, Rob Thomson has guided the team to four playoff appearances, two NL East titles and an NL pennant. He's taken a team that hadn't made the postseason since 2011 prior to his promotion to manager and helped to restore them as one of the sport's elite franchises. The .580 winning percentage he has as manager is about as good as it gets.
But for the second year in a row, a team with World Series aspirations is finished on Oct. 9, eliminated in the NLDS after playing well enough in the regular season to secure a first-round bye.
There, for the first time since Thomson became manager, will be legitimate speculation about his future on the job. Thomson is under contract in 2026, but there will be questions about whether it's time for a new voice leading a team that even with Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Ranger Suárez set to become free agents, will likely look relatively similar in 2026.
Thomson was asked about whether he expects to be the manager in 2026 after the heart-breaking 2-1 11-inning loss that ended the Phillies' season.
"Again, it's out of my control. I'm not even thinking about it," Thomson said. "I've got 60 people in there that are broken-hearted right now. So I'm thinking about that more so than my job right now."
Bryce Harper went 0-for-4 with a walk in the final game of the season, but the two-time NL MVP remains the face of the franchise and the player whose voice carries the most weight in the organization.
What does Harper think?
"I love Topper, man," Harper said. "He's done a great job for us. I don't know what the future holds. I have no idea. I think that's a Dombrowski question. But obviously, we love Topper in here. He's been great for us, but like I said, that's a Dombrowski question."
Bryce Harper on Rob Thomson’s future to @TimKellySports pic.twitter.com/6za1IPOe8p
Trea Turner won the NL batting title in 2025, with his third season in red pinstripes the best to date. But after missing much of September with a right hamstring strain, he hit just .235 over the four-game NLDS.
With eight years remaining on his $300 million contract, Turner is the Phillies player with the most job security moving forward. His opinion also matters quite a bit.
Does Turner think that Thomson is the right person to lead the Phillies moving forward.
"Yeah, 100%," Turner said without hesitation. "He's great, man. I've been blessed with a lot of good managers in my career. I've probably played for four or five now, and they've all been really good. He's right up there with them.
"He's got all the qualities. He keeps it even keel all year long. Like I said yesterday a little bit, he blends the old-school and the new-school. He's willing to adapt and change and do different things. I don't think we could ask for more from our manager."
Trea Turner on Rob Thomson’s future
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/ItXySEc9HD
A determination on Thomson's future isn't going to be made tomorrow. Even when it is made, the Phillies will have to navigate the postseason schedule as far as an announcement, because Major League Baseball frowns upon things like managerial changes usurping playoff games.
The question president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and managing partner John Middleton will have to ask themselves isn't whether Thomson can be a successful skipper. He obviously can. It's whether he's still the best person to lead this team going forward, or if a fresh voice could help to get this group over the hump.
Dombrowski became president of baseball operations in December of 2020, inheriting Joe Girardi as manager. When he fired Girardi in June of 2022, he promoted Thomson to interim manager, eventually removing that tag and keeping him as the leader of the team for the long-term. But Dombrowski has never led a managerial search with the Phillies, and surely from his decades in the game he would have some names in mind if a change is made.
The other possibility is that Thomson — who famously planned to retire after the 2022 season before his promotion to manager — taps out.
Jim Leyland stepped down as manager of the Detroit Tigers after the 2013 season, when Dombrowski was leading that front office. Under Leyland, the Tigers went 700-597 (.540) in eight years. Detroit won two AL pennants with Leyland as manager, including in his second-to-last season on the job. But Leyland, 68 at the time, said that "the fire has gone low."
There's no indication that Thomson, 62, is burnt out. But we'll see how he feels after the dust settles in the coming days. It's also possible that if the Phillies want to make a change, they'll allow Thomson to step down, rather than firing him. Who knows.
Whether Thomson has managed his last game for the Phillies or not, though, he remains bullish on the franchise's future.
"Oh I do," Thomson said when asked if he thinks the Phillies have a bright future. "And I don't know what Dave [Dombrowski] and John [Middleton] and Preston [Mattingly] are gonna to do in the offseason. We haven't really talked about anything like that.
"Our farm system is being built up," Thomson continued. "I know that John's gonna spend money. He wants to win. He wants to grow a champion. So there's good years ahead, no doubt."
