Phillies Sign Rob Thomson to Two-Year Deal

Rob Thomson will no longer have the "interim" manager tag in front of his name.

When former manager Joe Girardi was fired by the Philadelphia Phillies on June 3 of this year, it was difficult to say what direction the team would head in.

Bench coach Rob Thomson took over managerial duties and served as interim manager until the end of the 2022 MLB season. Thomson had been Girardi's "right-hand man" since their time with the New York Yankees. Would he lead Philadelphia down a similar path as his predecessor?

Thomson inherited a Phillies' team that had played to a 22-29 record up until that point in the season. Almost immediately following Girardi's firing, though, Philadelphia made an impressive turnaround in the summer months. 

They finished out the 2022 season with a 65-46 record under Thomson, and played their way into a Wild Card berth, thus ending what was over a decade long postseason drought. Then, Philadelphia shocked the baseball world and won the NL Wild Card series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and are now moving on to the NLDS for the first time since 2011. 

As a result of the Phillies' incredible comeback, the team has signed Thomson to a two-year deal for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

It's fantastic news for the city, and also for the team that loves playing for him. "[Thomson] is the heart and soul of this team," said Phillies' third baseman Alec Bohm. "He is the right man to lead us."

Thomson has already shown what he's capable of during his first four months as interim manager, now the baseball-lifer has two more seasons to take the Phillies to new heights as their full-time skipper.

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