The Philadelphia Phillies have had as bad of a start to the 2026 season as possible, posting an intolerable 9-19 record with a -54 run differential. Fans have their pitchforks sharpened and want heads to roll, calling for firings of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, manager Rob Thomson and hitting coach Kevin Long. They may get their wish, as Phillies insider Jim Salisbury said on his podcast Monday morning that he’s expecting a change to be made for “shock value.”
Phillies fans have fond memories of the 2022 National League pennant-winning team, and for good reason, as the upstart squad went on a Cinderella run after an ugly 22-29 start to the year. The turnaround began immediately after Dombrowski fired drill sergeant manager Joe Girardi and replaced him with the mild-mannered Thomson. That leadership change and subsequent turnaround serves as a blueprint for what fans are hoping for in a midseason shakeup this year.
Unfortunately, this iteration of the team is much older, less talented, and has a far more bloated payroll than four years ago, and it’s hard to see the same lightning striking twice. Casting aside Thomson or Long doesn't fix the horrifying roster construction that Dombrowski has foisted upon the team over the years, and it won’t add major league-ready talent to a farm system largely devoid of impact players. In short, firing members of the coaching staff may be cathartic and merited, but it probably won’t fix the Phillies’ deep-rooted organizational issues.
Someone has to pay the price for the Phillies' failures
Still, Salisbury has given fans hope that someone will be forced to walk the plank for the team’s abysmal first month.
“Monday could shape up as a day of change, a watershed moment,” Salisbury speculated on The Phillies Show. He continued, “I’m expecting to hear something… maybe not today [Monday], but before Tuesday’s game… I see them probably doing something for shock value.”
"I'm expecting to hear something."@JimSalisbury215 believes something could happen before Tuesday's game for "shock value." pic.twitter.com/3VShost6mj
— ThePhilliesShow (@ThePhilliesShow) April 27, 2026
The Phillies may make a move for shock value, but it wouldn’t be terribly shocking to fans who have watched an aging core faceplant in the postseason in four straight years. Now, the club is working hard to kill any hopes of even making it to October before the first month is over. The Phillies are a trainwreck and fans won’t rest until someone is held accountable.
However, the fact of the matter is that the Phillies are not one personnel change away from being on top of the mountain. The roster is fundamentally flawed in multiple ways and there is very little hope that highly paid veterans who have been producing diminishing results will magically perform better just because a new person is leading them. It’s certainly worth a shot, but a new manager probably won’t fix the mess that Dave Dombrowski created.
Add us as a preferred source on Google