Insider’s intriguing take on Rob Thomson firing will catch Phillies fans’ attention

The Philadelphia Phillies are 6-1 since firing Rob Thomson as manager and naming Don Mattingly as the interim. While the club has looked stellar since making that shocking move, one MLB insider claims that, despite the struggles to begin the season and the success that followed, the firing of Thomson still isn’t quite justified.

During a guest appearance on “Foul Territory,” Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic seems to believe that the players realized their poor play got Thomson fired, and have seemingly “snapped” out of their losing ways. Rosenthal refuses to believe that Mattingly is doing anything drastically different and states that if he were Thomson, he would feel a certain way about how everything is playing out in Philadelphia right now.

“For whatever reason, [Thomson’s firing] does seem to have had an effect on the team. Clearly. They’re playing much better,” said Rosenthal. “Is the effect because it’s Don Mattingly and not Rob Thomson? Or, is it the players are simply waking up, having snapped to attention that they got a manager fired?

“That’s what happened here,” proclaimed Rosenthal. “The players got the manager fired. Maybe they’re feeling some responsibility. I just don’t believe that this is such a different program under Don Mattingly than it was under Rob Thomson… If I’m Rob Thomson and I’m sitting at home right now watching this, I’m a little peeved, because [the players playing well] is what should have happened when he was the manager.”

There was nothing Rob Thompson did badly enough to hold down the Phillies, says @Ken_Rosenthal.

"If I'm him sitting at home right now, I'm a little peeved watching this." pic.twitter.com/7HAt7LAapo

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 5, 2026

Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper admitted recently that he and his teammates were essentially waiting for something to happen to light a spark under the team. That “something” just so happened to be Rob Thomson’s firing from the organization.

Philadelphia will have a chance to earn its seventh win since letting go of Thomson on Tuesday. The Phillies are scheduled to take on the Athletics at home at 6:40 p.m. EST for the first contest of a three-game series.

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