Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (49) looks on before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game three of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Rob Thomson will not be a lame duck going into the 2026 season.
The Phillies announced, Tuesday, that Thomson had his contract extended through the end of the 2027 season. Terms of the deal, as usual, were not disclosed.
"It always comes back for me to, 'are you having fun? Are you enjoying it? Are you getting in somebody's way? Are you getting in the way of winning?,'" Thomson said about wanting to stay in Philadelphia. "I'm still enjoying it. I love the organization. This is the only place I want to go. I don't want to go any place else whenever I'm done, because I love the people and I love the organization from the owner (John Middleton), to (President of Baseball Operations) Dave (Dombrowski), to all of our player development people - it's just a group of people that really come together and want to win baseball games and want to win a championship, and that's what I like."
Thomson, 62, has been one of the most successful managers in Phillies history during his tenure, and was a finalist in 2025 for National League Manager of the Year.
In his four seasons, he has guided the Phillies to a World Series appearance, a second trip to a National League Championship Series, and back-to-back N.L. East titles, with regular season win totals improving in each of his four seasons.
He is just the fourth manager to reach the postseason in his first four seasons of his career.
Breaking: The Phillies have extended the contract of manager Rob Thomson through the 2027 season. pic.twitter.com/uN1esBlkYd
Of course, the one criticism that is out there is that his teams have had diminishing returns every October, even though the talent in the clubhouse was seemingly better each season.
However, Thomson is a seen as a steady leader who is well-liked and respected by his players.
President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski indicated in October that the team was planning to extend Thomson. Dombrowski doesn't like having a manager become a lame duck with uncertainty about his situation leaking into the season, as he feels it becomes a distraction.
Thomson is likely to be joined on the bench this season by old friend Don Mattingly as his bench coach.
There is mutual interest between the Phillies and Mattingly to get a deal done. Thomson and Mattingly worked together on Joe Torre's staff with the New York Yankees in the early 2000s.
"I don't think that Major League coaches or managers have to have (Major League) playing experience, but I think it really helps," Thomson told On Pattison on Phillies Stoplight. "They understand what a player's going through because they've been through it. Having that guy around - he's very intelligent, very organized, very calm, He doesn't get too fired up or down in the dumps. He's very even-keeled. He's just a great guy to have a round."
It was a busy morning for the Phillies on Day 2 of the Winter Meetings as they reportedly signed Kyle Schwarber to a 5-year, $150 million contract within the same hour of announcing Thomson's extension.
