Rob Thomson defends The Bunt, admits bullpen mistakes, says he’d manage Phillies forever (wink)

The 54 minutes of Dave Dombrowski artfully saying nothing Thursday overshadowed 30 minutes of revelation from Rob Thomson.

The Phillies president of baseball operations didn’t commit to bringing back free agents Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, or Ranger Suárez. He didn’t commit to promoting prospects Justin Crawford or Andrew Painter. And he didn’t commit to overspending to catch a Dodgers team that he essentially acknowledged is just too damned good for his Phillies to beat.

The manager, on the other hand, confessed that he’d made a mistake in bullpen management in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, said he was having too much fun to quit any time soon, and expressed no regret regarding Bryson Stott’s failed sacrifice attempt in Game 2.

Trailing by one run, with a slow Nick Castellanos on second base, no option to pinch-run, and an overmatched left-handed batter Bryson Stott at the plate, Thomson decided to try to bunt Castellanos to third.

Stott showed bunt on the first pitch, a ball, and the Dodgers telegraphed a rarely run “wheel” play, in which the first and third basemen crash the plate and the shortstop dashes to cover third.

Thomson kept the play on. Stott bunted decently. Third baseman Max Muncy fielded it, whirled, and made a good throw to shortstop Mookie Betts, who tagged out Castellanos.

“We play for the tie at home,” Thomson said afterward, which is fine, especially considering the player and pitcher in question.

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Not only was Stott 0-for-5 with two walks against lefty Alex Vesia, Stott had put only one ball in the field of play against him. He’d hit .225 against lefties in 2025. He’d entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh. He’s a decent bunter.

This, from my view, was the right play. Stott might better have bunted toward first base, which would have required Freddie Freeman, who throws right-handed, to turn his hips to make a longer, more difficult throw. But the best odds Thomson had of Stott advancing Castellanos lay in Stott bunting.

I asked Thomson about the play the next day in Los Angeles. He said he would do the same thing.

Asked Thursday if he’d have done anything differently in the four games, he pointedly avoided The Bunt, but he readily conceded botching The Bullpen.

In Game 1, leading by 3-2, Thomson pulled Cy Young Award contender Cristopher Sánchez with two out in the sixth inning and inserted 40-year-old right-hander David Robertson, who escaped the inning.

However, Thomson sent Robertson back out for the seventh. Robertson, who is semi-retired, did not pitch in the majors until August and had zero instances this season in which he pitched the end of one inning and the beginning of the next — an up-down in baseball parlance. The first two hitters reached base.

“I asked [Robertson], and he said he was good to go,” Thomson said at the time.

Thomson then inserted left-hander Matt Strahm. It had been six weeks since Strahm had been in a situation in which he inherited runners. It went fine at first: He got Shohei Ohtani and Betts out. But then, because of the rule that relievers have to pitch to a minimum of three hitters before an inning ends, Strahm had to face Teoscar Hernandez, whose three-run homer led to a 5-3 Phillies loss.

Said Thomson at the time: “I trust him in those situations. He’s been through it before. He’s experienced.”

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Thomson reversed course Thursday, saying he should have exposed Robertson and Strahm to those situations before the season ended.

“What I would have done differently is checked a few more boxes going into the playoffs. As far as David Robertson having an up-down, he hadn’t had one. Bringing Strahm in the middle of an inning — we didn’t check that box. Would it have made a difference? I don’t know, but I know that if we check that box, I could sleep a little bit better.”

It looks like he’s going to have plenty more chances to do so, because he loves it here.

Thomson entered the 2022 season as Joe Girardi’s bench coach, and he told the club that he planned to retire at the end of the season. He’d been passed over for dozens of jobs as a major-league manager and he’d lost his desire to serve as a lieutenant.

But then Girardi got fired midseason, Thomson took his place, led the Phillies to the World Series, led them to the playoffs the next season, has won the NL East the last two seasons, and keeps winning more games every year.

He’s said in the past that this will be his last job in baseball, and he’s said he’s not sure how much longer he wants to keep working. But it sounds like, at the age of 62, Topper’s just getting started.

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“It’s been the most fun of my career,” he said. “That has to do with the people in the organization: players, staff, front office, the fan base, how I’m treated by [the press]. I feel like I’m treated very fairly. As long as I’m happy, and my family’s happy, and I’m having fun, and they want me, I’ll manage.”

Thomson is respected and adored by most of his players, many of whom — Bryce Harper, Sánchez, Zack Wheeler — have enjoyed the most success of their careers under Thomson’s management.

And while Dombrowski and managing partner John Middleton don’t always agree with Thomson’s lineups or his bullpen usage or his in-game strategies, both believe he creates a clubhouse atmosphere in which a mix of diverse and delicate egos thrive.

Thomson is signed only through the 2026 season, which makes him a lame duck and diminishes his power in the clubhouse. However, Dombrowski said Thursday that, in the coming months, he will add a year to Thomson’s contract.

Thomson is an excellent manager.

Would that this becomes a rite of autumn.