April 26, 2026
Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images
Is Alex Cora managing the Phillies really a possibility?
The Phillies have a manager, and one who's led the team to four straight playoff berths in Rob Thomson.
Could he really be expendable before the end of April?
Philly shook off its 10-game losing streak Saturday night, the franchise's worst string of setbacks in over two decades. But they're still 9-18 and a ridiculous 9.5 games behind in the NL East. They have time on their side, but also, they've looked god awful.
They're paying hundreds of millions of dollars to their aging roster. A shakeup is needed and there isn't much the team can do. Except for changing the coaching staff.
Here's where the Red Sox and Alex Cora enter the picture. Mired in a similarly heinous slow start, Boston went scorched earth this weekend with its own coaching staff, leaving Cora, the World Series winning manager, unemployed. He has very strong ties to Philly. We'll let USA Today's Bob Nightengale explain the rest, saying that Cora "could be managing the Philadelphia Phillies by the time they return home Tuesday":
It was a bit of a surprise that the Phillies kept Thomson after last season when they were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs again, signing him to an extension through 2027.
The Phillies didn’t think it would be fair to dump him. He led the Phillies to the postseason four consecutive years. He is well-liked. He is respected by the players and front office.
And Cora was still employed by the Red Sox.
The worst-kept secret in baseball is that Dave Dombrowski loves Cora from their days together in Boston, hiring him in 2017 and winning the World Series a year later.
While Dombrowski expressed his public support of Thomson three days ago, and insisted his job is safe, Dombrowski didn’t realize Cora was about to be fired.
If Cora had not signed his three-year, $21.75 million contract extension last summer, Cora likely would have been managing the Phillies at the start of this season. [USA Today]
A shakeup of this magnitude is certainly rare in pro sports. But the Phillies connection is popping up from other baseball insiders as well.
The most likely landing spot for Alex Cora is the #Phillies due to the fact Dave Dombrowski and Alex won that 2018 World Championship together and both have promoted the other as future Hall of Famers. The mutual respect is special. However its more likely for 2027 then now.
— Jim Bowden⚾️ (@JimBowdenGM) April 26, 2026
Thomson is a fan favorite, at least he is when he's winning, and is a player's manager. He handled the Nick Castellanos situation last season pretty impressively as the Phillies still won 96 games despite turmoil in the clubhouse. But he's not particularly known as a tactician and had a rough time in the Dodgers series.
Cora, on the other hand, is one of baseball's leading strategic managers and is a great communicator. His Red Sox won 108 games in 2018 and a world championship, though he has actually made it to fewer postseasons than Thomson (just three).
The Phillies need drastic changes — and probably needed them after their fourth straight postseason meltdown last October — and frankly, taking a big swing like this might be just what the doctor ordered. The timing is right. The connection between Dombrowski and Cora is real. And the pressure for the Phillies to find a way to get back to contention is as intense as it gets.
It still sounds like total malarkey and quite the stretch, but there is smoke. Will there be fire?
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