Phillies Must Hit Reset Button and Move On From Embattled Manager Rob Thomson

The Philadelphia Phillies suffered an incredibly heartbreaking defeat on Thursday night which saw the end of their season and potentially end of an era for the core of stars after falling short again.

With numerous free agents hitting the open market coming off falling short for the fourth year in a row of winning a World Series, change feels inevitable in Philadelphia and moves will be made to address the failures.

This could mean letting guys walk away, trading pieces around, bringing new stars in and everything in between. But the question on everyone's mind one day after the exit is what will happen to manager Rob Thomson after the team fell short under his guidance yet again.

Unfortunately for Thomson, it seems he has already given the team the answer with yet another disappointment.

Phillies Should Make Change at Manager After Another Failure

Rob Thomson of Philadelphia Phillies in red sweatshirt and red hat — Oct 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson speaks with the media before game one of the NLDS round of the 2025 MLB playoffs against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

While the throwing error and decision by Orion Kerkering is going to be what many are talking about, it was a decision by Thomson in the seventh inning which set Philadelphia up for failure.

With two outs and runners on second and third, Thomson -- with superstar closer Jhoan Duran in the game -- chose to walk Shohei Ohtani to load the bases and put the tying run a walk away from scoring. Though the logic made some sense in that Duran rarely ever walks anyone, that's exactly what he did against Mookie Betts the next batter.

"I feel for [Orion Kerkering] because he's putting it all on his shoulders. But we win as a team and we lose as a team."

Phillies skipper Rob Thomson addresses the media following tonight's loss. pic.twitter.com/x6JvRwwjMM
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 10, 2025

Ohtani -- for as spectacular as he is -- was just 1-for-17 in the playoffs, and it's not as if Betts is some slouch either. Thomson put Ohtani on and Duran under extreme pressure in order to face someone who has been getting on base lately even at a higher rate than Ohtani.

Avoiding Ohtani for Betts did not provide any kind of tactical advantage and put the team actively at a disadvantage by filling up first base. While the loss is not entirely on him by any means, it's just the latest piece of evidence that this team won't get it done with him at the helm.

Will Phillies Actually Make Move to Get Rid of Thomson?

Rob Thomson and David Robertson of Philadelphia Phillies exchange ball — Oct 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) relieves pitcher David Robertson (30) in the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game one of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

This is a complicated question. After last year's early NLDS collapse against the New York Mets, Thomson was extended by Dave Dombrowski through the 2026 season in a show of confidence at the direction of the franchise. Of course, this hardly makes him untouchable, but it would take Dombrowski admitting he made a mistake in order for Thomson to be replaced.

Thomson would hardly be the first manager to be replaced before his extension expired, with even this season the San Francisco Giants moving on from Bob Melvin just months after extending him through 2026.

Back-to-back division titles should be factored here, but Thomson had chance after chance with this core and moved in the wrong direction in each of the last two years. At a certain point, results have to matter.

Whether or not he stays remains to be seen and Dombrowski has a real conundrum on his hands, but this question of Thomson's status really should have only one answer.