It\u2019s easy to connect the dots given the timing of the firings. Phils president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was leading the Red Sox\u2019s front office when Boston first hired Cora in 2017. The Sox won the World Series a year later. Bob Nightengale of USA Today<\/a> reports that the Phillies offered the job to Cora, who declined while citing a desire to spend more time with family. Cora\u2019s deal with Boston paid him upwards of $7MM per season through 2027, so he\u2019s well positioned financially to take some time away if that\u2019s indeed his preference.<\/p>\n The Phillies decided a change was needed even if Cora weren\u2019t interested. Mattingly seems set to handle through the job through the end of the season. Of course, he has an even stronger tie with the Philly front office. His son Preston is Philadelphia\u2019s general manager, the #2 in baseball operations underneath Dombrowski.<\/p>\n The firing ends Thomson\u2019s three-plus year run leading the club, one that was highly successful overall. He was initially hired on an interim basis when the Phils dismissed Joe Girardi in June 2022. Thomson took over a team that was seven games below .500 and 12 back in the NL East. They went 65-46 the rest of the way to snag the NL\u2019s final playoff spot, then tore through the Senior Circuit playoff field to win the pennant. Even after they dropped a six-game World Series at the hands of the Astros, it was an easy call for the Phillies to commit to Thomson as the full-time skipper.<\/p>\n It\u2019d be too simplistic to attribute the \u201922 turnaround solely to the managerial change. The Phils dismissed Girardi because they had a talented roster that wasn\u2019t performing to expectations. Some kind of improvement was probably inevitable either way. The Phillies\u2019 regular season results continued to improve during Thomson\u2019s three full seasons at the helm. They respectively won 90, 95, and 96 games between 2023-25. Philadelphia has won the NL East in each of the last two seasons and comfortably made the playoffs all three years.<\/p>\n Despite the regular season trend, their postseason performances have gone in the wrong direction. Philadelphia lost a seven-game NLCS to the Diamondbacks in 2023. They\u2019ve been bounced in the Division Series (by the Mets and Dodgers, respectively) in each of the past two years. Philly\u2019s front office has pointed to the unpredictability of short series in remaining committed to Thomson as manager. They signed him to an extension<\/a> running through 2027 last December.<\/p>\n Things changed quickly. The Phillies couldn\u2019t have started this year much more poorly. They\u2019ve only won two series, and those came against the Nationals and Rockies. They\u2019ve lost each of their past six series, including a 10-game losing streak that dropped them from .500 to 8-18 last week.<\/p>\n The issues have been up and down the roster.\u00a0Cristopher S\u00e1nchez<\/a> has been their only effective starting pitcher. The offense has scored 102 runs, above only the Giants and Mets. They\u2019re 29th in batting average and on-base percentage while ranking 17th in home runs.\u00a0Kyle Schwarber<\/a>,\u00a0Bryce Harper<\/a> and\u00a0Brandon Marsh<\/a> have been their only above-average hitters. They\u2019ve gotten particularly poor starts from Alec Bohm<\/a> and\u00a0Bryson Stott<\/a>, while offseason signee\u00a0Adolis Garc\u00eda<\/a> hasn\u2019t provided much in right field.<\/p>\n Philadelphia\u2019s recent success has been built on excellent starting pitching and a potent lineup. They\u2019ve had a difficult time building strong bullpens and are one of the league\u2019s weakest defensive teams. The rotation should benefit from\u00a0Zack Wheeler\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0return from thoracic outlet surgery and more consistency from\u00a0Jes\u00fas Luzardo<\/a>, but they\u2019re lacking depth beyond their top five arms. The Phillies let Ranger Su\u00e1rez<\/a> walk in free agency, relying on\u00a0Andrew Painter<\/a> to step into the rotation. Painter\u2019s performance has been up and down, while\u00a0Aaron Nola<\/a> continues to be much too susceptible to home runs. They pulled the plug on\u00a0Taijuan Walker<\/a> last week, releasing the struggling righty once Wheeler returned.<\/p>\n The front office certainly deserves some of the blame for the underwhelming start. That said, it\u2019s not as if Thomson\u2019s managerial tenure was uniformly positive. He came under some fire for his in-game tactics in the playoffs and had a rift with Nick Castellanos<\/a>, who publicly criticized the skipper\u2019s communication skills. Veteran reliever Matt Strahm<\/a> reportedly also voiced some displeasure internally with how Thomson handled his bullpen last season. The front office sided with Thomson in both instances, releasing Castellanos and trading Strahm to Kansas City.<\/p>\n It now falls on Mattingly to lead a turnaround, one the Phillies hope will resemble their 2022 season. They\u2019ve already dropped 10.5 games behind the red hot Braves in the division race. Getting to 90 wins would require them to play at a 60.4% clip (a 98-win pace) for the rest of the season. It\u2019s doable but leaves them without much margin for error, and another few weeks of play this poor would dig a hole from which they\u2019d have almost no chance to recover.<\/p>\n The 65-year-old Mattingly is in his first season in Philadelphia. He spent the previous three seasons working as John Schneider\u2019s bench coach in Toronto. The Jays came up just shy of winning a World Series last year and hoped to bring back their entire coaching staff. Mattingly declined, preferring the Philly opportunity. It seems fair to assume he didn\u2019t expect to be the interim manager within a month of joining one of the NL\u2019s perennial contenders, but that\u2019s the situation in which he finds himself.<\/p>\n Mattingly has 12 seasons of managerial experience. He led the Dodgers from 2011-15 and skippered the Marlins between 2016-22. He predictably had much more success in Los Angeles, leading the team to three division titles. Mattingly made the postseason just once in seven seasons in Miami, a 31-29 showing during the shortened 2020 schedule. He holds an 889-950 record as a major league manager.<\/p>\n Wathan assumes his highest-profile role on the Philly staff. The 52-year-old has been in the organization for nearly two decades. He worked his way up as a minor league manager and has been the third base coach since the 2018 season. Wathan has held that position under Gabe Kapler, Girardi, and Thomson. Contreras now takes that role for his first MLB coaching opportunity. He has managed Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the last four-plus seasons.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/USATSI_28805222-200x300.jpg\"\/)
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