The Phillies are a mess right now. You know it. I know it. They know it. To paraphrase the great Yogi Berra, it’s getting late early. You cannot win a division or a pennant in April, but you can certainly lose one. And you can do that by doing things like winning two of your last 15 games and losing seven games in a row like the Phillies have done entering play yesterday.
When things are going this poorly, especially early on in the season, the discussion is usually dominated by what needs to be done
to try and find a spark. Naturally, the first thing that comes up is a managerial change. Rob Thomson is not at fault for all of the Phillies’ failings, but everything comes into question with a putrid start such as this one. Firing a manager this early into the season rarely if ever works out, but it’s the first lever to pull that gets considered. We of course have the example of Joe Girardi’s firing in recent Phillies history, but that didn’t happen until June 3rd. The 2022 Phillies were 22-29 when Girardi was given the boot. Forty to fifty or so games are usually how long a team waits until making such a move. Firing a manger in April is usually viewed as a panic move and in this case would be a black mark against a front office that just extended their manager four months ago, but all options are on the table.
The other coaching change option that could be considered is hitting coach Kevin Long. Long has been with the team since 2022 and has frequently come under fire from the fanbase due to the offense’s tendency to underperform or fall into a malaise. He’s considered one of the better hitting coaches in the sport and is well respected around the game. He has a definitive track record of helping players, with Kyle Schwarber being his star pupil, but he has helped players such as Brandon Marsh improve their game. However, Long has also overseen an offense that has disappeared in the postseason multiple times and is off to a historically bad start to 2026. It is rarely, if ever, the hitting coach’s fault, as he simply cannot change what a player is at his core, even if he can help with adjustments and tweaks. But the hitting coach is usually the favorite scapegoat for a team whose offense is nonexistent.
There’s much less to be done about the actual players on the roster at this juncture. Rosters across baseball are very inflexible at this point in the season, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t options. The team could release Taijuan Walker to show some sense of urgency, but he is hardly the only problem with the pitching staff. Releasing him now would be easier than in the past as it is the last year of his contract and maybe it would send some kind of message. On the offense side, there’s really not a whole lot that can be done besides benching. Theoretically, maybe a surprise demotion could be on the table for someone like Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott, but they have earned the right to refuse an assignment to the minor leagues thanks to five years of MLB service time, so it’s extremely unlikely. Otherwise, we’ve already seen multiple lineup changes and even a surprise promotion with Felix Reyes, and nothing has worked.
So, is it time for the Phillies to do something drastic? If so, what lever would you pull?
