Kyle Schwarber? Cristopher Sanchez? Nope. Rob Thomson is the Phillies’ MVP this year. Extend him.

The Los Angeles Dodgers just scored 18 runs in the two games it took to dispatch a Reds team whose pitching led them to the postseason and was just slightly worse than the Phillies’.

Which is to say the Division Series that begins Saturday in Philadelphia could very well be, to borrow from Thomas Hobbes, both brutish and short.

It doesn’t take the intellect of a 17th-century philosopher to divine that the defending World Series champions, who led the National League in offense, could turn a best-of-five series into a three-and-out proposition.

Nor should it take a person of leviathan intellect to understand that Phillies manager Rob Thomson’s future should not hinge on the outcome of these playoff games.

» READ MORE: David Murphy: The odds say the Phillies are underdogs against the Dodgers in the NLDS. The odds are correct.

Dealing with pestilent injury and unwarranted insolence, Thomson this year completed the best job of his 3½-year tenure as manager. He had a gold-standard slugger in Kyle Schwarber and wound up with an ace in Cristopher Sánchez, who will start Game 1, but Thomson and his staff generally spun gold from straw. This will be true regardless of the outcome of the postseason.

As such, Thomson should be rewarded with a contract extension.

Today.

His current deal runs through 2026, but asking any coach or manager to work as a lame duck these days, with players like Nick Castellanos, A.J. Brown, and Joel Embiid, is to forfeit any authority from the outset. Topper has earned security, even if he’s been imperfect in Octobers.

In 2022, Thomson made a dodgy decision in Game 6 of the World Series when he pulled Zack Wheeler early. In 2023, he gave both rookie Orion Kerkering and veteran Craig Kimbrel too many chances in the NLCS. But last season, the Phillies limped over the finish line and lost to a hot Mets team due to cold bats and wilted relievers.

Now, the Phillies face a Dodgers team seasoned by winning. It features perhaps the best player in baseball history, ace/slugger Shohei Ohtani, who will start Game 1; former American League MVP Mookie Betts, once the best player in the majors, who might win a seventh Gold Glove after converting from the outfield to shortstop this season at the age of 32; and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a Cy Young candidate in only his second season.

If their bullpen shows up, the Dodgers are baseball’s best team, by far.

So, if the Phillies hit Cancun early this year, they’ll be sent packing by a championship squad with an MLB-record $350 million payroll, or about 17% more than the Phillies’, which this year ranks third.

When you evaluate Thomson, bear that in mind.

First, bear this in mind:

Thomson this season won the most games of his tenure, and the most games for the Phillies in 14 years, and he did it without his best player down the stretch.

Zack Wheeler not only has been the Phillies’ best player since he signed in 2020, he’s been the best pitcher in baseball, and one of the three or four best pitchers in Phillies history. His stats back it up. His playoff performances back it up.

» READ MORE: How far will the Phillies go in the playoffs? Outs 13-21 will likely determine their fate.

So, when the Phillies lost Wheeler for the season Aug. 16, the season seemed lost. Sure, the Phils might make the playoffs, and they might even hold on to their six-game lead in the NL East, but really, where would they go without their ace?

They went 26-14. They finished with 96 wins, second-best in baseball.

Thomson was brilliant.

When Wheeler went down, Thomson guided Sánchez and Ranger Suárez through a torrid stretch of winning. During it all Thomson had to manipulate a remade bullpen, a reconstructed lineup, a faded ace, and two discontented outfielders.

First, the ’pen.

Dave Dombrowski’s deadline deal for Twins closer Jhoan Duran filled a ninth-inning vacuum left by José Alvarado, who was first suspended, and then was injured; and Jordan Romano, who was first horrific, and then injured. Thomson got a career year out of nowhere from 33-year-old lefty Tanner Banks, a former 18th-round pick who spent more than a decade in the minors.

Dombrowski also made a lesser trade, for Twins center fielder Harrison Bader, a 31-year-old former Gold Glove winner whom the Phillies figured could be no worse than young Johan Rojas, who was demoted. It was only lesser by a smidge, considering the return. Before this season, Bader’s career batting average was .242 and his career OPS was .698. When traded, he was as at .258 with a .778 OPS. With Thomson and the Phillies, he’s hitting .305 with an .824 OPS.

The rest of the outfield was just as unsettled. Before the season was over, both Max Kepler and Castellanos — longtime, full-time starters — had complained about their roles. By the end of the season, under Thomson’s fair and steady hand, each was part of a productive rotation. In fact, Castellanos was 3-for-7 with a homer and five RBIs in five games coming off the bench.

Perhaps the least-appreciated aspect of the 2025 season was the void left by the fourth-highest-paid player on the roster, Aaron Nola.

Wheeler’s absence, Sánchez’s unexpected Cy Young candidacy, dominant stretches from Suárez and Jesús Luzardo, and alarming contributions from No. 7 starter Taijuan Walker muted the catastrophe of Nola’s season. Like Romano, Nola — a $24.5 million, No. 2 starter — was horrific, then injured. Unlike Romano, Nola returned, and generally was horrific again. He needed a lockdown start in his final outing to merit consideration for a playoff roster spot.

» READ MORE: The Phillies’ Harrison Bader has been painting since he was a kid. And it has helped shape his game.

He wasn’t the only big-money underperformer.

Two-time MVP Bryce Harper battled a wrist injury and finished with a .261 average and an .844 OPS, his worst numbers in nine years. J.T. Realmuto’s .700 OPS was his worst in 10 years. Castellanos’ .694 OPS tied his worst full-season mark.

Still, they won.

How?

Shortstop Trea Turner, at 32, won the NL batting title by changing his approach and batting leadoff, all at Thomson’s direction. Turner also had the best defensive season of his career — again, adapting changes at Thomson’s direction.

There were others. Luzardo won a career-best 15 games and pitched a career-high 183⅔ innings. Marsh finally found himself and hit .303 over the last four months. Otto Kemp, a 26-year-old rookie, hit eight home runs and played four defensive positions. Utility man Edmundo Sosa hit .276 with 11 home runs in 89 games, and he played five positions.

And there were stars.

What about Sánchez and Schwarber? They’re elite players. Shouldn’t their accomplishments diminish Thomson’s influence?

Hardly. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true.

They became who they are under Thomson.

In 2022, when Thomson took over midseason, Sánchez was the No. 22-ranked prospect in the Phillies organization. He has made all but one of his major-league starts under Thomson. Under Thomson and his coaches, Sánchez has become a better version of himself than anyone dared imagine.

Among pitchers with at least 50 starts the past three seasons, only Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal, and Wheeler have ERAs better than Sánchez’s 2.89. Skubal won the AL Cy Young Award last season and will probably win it again this season. Skenes finished third last year in NL voting, behind Chris Sale and Wheeler, and he’s probably going to win it this year.

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper is ready to become Mr. Red October again for the Phillies. There’s only one thing missing ...

Schwarber will get MVP votes this year on the strength of his league-best 56 homers and his 132 RBIs, which led the majors. It’s been his best season, but then, it’s been building.

Before landing in Philly, in seven seasons with three teams, Schwarber’s OPS was .836. He’d hit 153 home runs. His cumulative Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, was 8.9.

In just four seasons in Philly, 3½ of them under Thomson, his OPS is .856. He’s hit 187 homers. His WAR is 11.1.

Schwarber’s contract expires at the end of the season, but the Phillies are expected to break the bank to re-sign him.

They should be willing to do the same to extend Thomson.