Rob Thomson will be back to manage the Phillies for the 2026 season, a source confirms to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark.
The Phillies’ skipper led the club to their second straight National League East division title and their fourth postseason appearance.
Thomson joined the Phils as a bench coach in 2021 when the Phillies hired Joe Girardi as manager. After a 22-29 start in 2022, fourth-worst in the National League at the time, the organization fired Girardi and turned to Thomson as interim manager. The move sparked an immediate turnaround: Philadelphia went 65-46 the rest of the way, clinching a Wild Card berth and surging to the National League pennant before falling to the Astros in the World Series.
Sticking with “Topper,” the Phillies came within one win of returning to the Fall Classic, losing in Game 7 of the NLCS to the Diamondbacks in 2023. The following year, they finished with the second-best record in the National League before a disappointing four-game NLDS loss to the Mets.
A similar script played out in 2025, a 96-win campaign, a second consecutive NL East crown and another NLDS exit, this time to the Dodgers.
It has not yet been reported whether the Phillies will retain the rest of the coaching staff, but Thomson, one of only four managers in MLB history to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons, will not be going anywhere.