Slow start hasn’t put former Jayhawk Thomson, now Phillies manager, on hot seat, president says
Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson, a former Jayhawk, stands in the dugout before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
CHICAGO (AP) — Dave Dombrowski says he’s looking at “everything that’s taking place” with Philadelphia’s poor start to the season, and he has no immediate concerns about Rob Thomson being the manager to get the Phillies back to the World Series.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night — Philadelphia’s seventh loss in a row — the Phillies’ president of baseball operations stood behind Thomson’s work and said he’s been a good manager since replacing Joe Girardi in 2022.
“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,'” Dombrowski said. “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.
“I’m responsible for putting the club on the field, so I’m not happy with the way it’s going.”
The Phillies were 8-15 entering Wednesday night’s game against the Cubs, the second-worst record in the National League behind the New York Mets. They’ve lost eight of their last 10 games.
“We just haven’t played very well,” Dombrowski said, adding that some individual players have played fine, but “as a group, I don’t think any part of our team has excelled.”
Thomson, a former Jayhawk, led Philadelphia to the 2022 World Series after taking over for Girardi, losing to the Houston Astros in six games. Since then, the club has regressed in the postseason. It lost in the NL Championship Series in 2023 in seven games, and the NL Division Series in 2024 and ’25 in four games.






