The Philadelphia Phillies are going through an emotional shake-up after their manager, Rob Thomson, was fired. While the decision came following an on-field struggle in the season, it carries visible weight in the clubhouse. Now the key players are coming forward to take responsibility, while others still find the firing hard to accept.

“Yeah, it was tough. It’s never easy on players when your manager gets to let go. I’ve been part of three of them now, and it’s never a good feeling,” catcher J.T. Realmuto expressed in a recent interview. 

The Phillies fired their manager on April 28 after a disastrous 9-19 record in 2026. But Thomson wasn’t the first manager that Realmuto saw leave the camp. He joined the Phillies in 2019 and saw Gabe Kapler part ways in the same season, while Joe Girardi was sacked by the franchise in 2022.

But Thomson’s exit had a bigger toll on Realmuto, given how he led the Phillies to four straight postseasons after an 11-year drought. That’s the biggest reason he takes the blame. 

“As a player, you always take accountability. We all feel responsible for what happened to him,” Realmuto said. “We know that we’re the ones on the field, not doing our job.”

According to The Athletic, the Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski, asked Thomson to come to his office on Tuesday. Thomson knew what it was about. Dombrowski broke the news, a decision that reportedly left team owner John Middleton in tears. For many, axing the manager was inevitable in the context of repeated poor performance. But it wasn’t something they could happily agree with.

Dombrowski took to social media shortly after the firing and refused to put all the blame on one person. Instead, he put the entire clubhouse on high alert. It was his way of asking the players and staff to take accountability. And Realmuto is doing just that.

“At times, somebody has to be held accountable, and they can’t.  It sucks that the players are the ones not playing well, and then somebody else has to do their job for it, but that’s baseball. It’s just unfortunate,” the 35-year-old catcher added. 

Realmuto’s accountability reflects the team-wide mindset, explaining how big an impact Rob Thomson had on the players despite the results of this early season. 

Phillies clubhouse backs Rob Thomson despite firing

Rob Thomson took over as manager in June 2022, as the Phillies were struggling with a 22-29 record. He took the team to an 87-75 record at the end of the regular season, earning a spot in the playoffs.

They made it all the way to the World Series that year but lost to the Houston Astros in six games. It was still a huge success for a team that hadn’t reached the postseason since 2011. Thomson then led the team back to the postseason for the next three years in a row. That’s why the players are finding it hard to accept his firing after one bad start.

Veteran Bryce Harper explained how tough it is for him. He emphasized that the team loved him, and it hurts that they failed him.

Even José Alvarado echoed the same sentiment, mentioning how they collectively failed to reach the ultimate goal, which is winning the World Series. But he probably had a deeper connection with the coach than most of his teammates. 

“But personally, he’s a person that always helped me when I needed it the most, that always supported me in tough times,” he added. 

Alvarado referred to his 80-game PED suspension in 2025 and how Thomson was “there for him through it all.”

Trea Turner agreed with Realmuto and other teammates. He finds it hard to accept that the manager faces the consequences when they are the ones performing poorly on the field.

“It’s tough, man. I know Rob’s in charge of us, and he’s managing us, but we’ve got to go out there and play baseball,” he added. 

But even while going through the sorrow, he tried to inject some positivity for the entire team, saying, “Sometimes change could be a good thing, and hopefully we roll with it and play a lot better baseball.”

And the team has done exactly that. Don Mattingly recorded his first win as a manager, beating the Giants 7-0 on Tuesday. It looks like J.T. Realmuto isn’t the only player taking accountability.

True, it’s just been one game, and the Phillies are still at the bottom of the NL East. But it does show some good signs of a turnaround for the fans.