Phillies Fire Joe Girardi, Where Do They Go From Here?
After 273 games with the Philadelphia Phillies, Joe Girardi has been fired as the team’s manager. The Phillies sit at 22-29 and have underperformed all season long. Girardi’s career record with the Phillies will end at 132-141. Girardi was hired before the 2020 COVID shortened season and led the Phillies to a 28-32 record in 60 games. He followed that campaign by leading the Phillies to an 82-win season in 2021, their highest since 2011. Coming off that 82-win season, expectations for the team were for it to take the next step forward by getting into the playoffs. To achieve this, the team spent more money than it ever had to give itself the best possible chance. They signed two All-Star outfielders in Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos, and relievers that they believed could bounce back from down years in the past. Girardi never finished better than second in the NL East with the Phillies.
Girardi took time to speak with reporters this morning after his firing saying that “we underperformed and that falls on me.” Girardi also said he thinks there is more talent in the clubhouse than was displayed on the field.
The Phillies have named bench coach Robb Thompson as the interim manager for the rest of the season. In addition to Girardi, assistant coach Bobby Meacham has been let go with quality assurance coach Mike Calitri stepping into his role.
Phillies President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski said in a statement put out by the club that “It’s been a frustrating season up to this point. I felt a change was needed and that a new voice in the clubhouse would give us the best chance to turn things around. I believe we have a talented group that can get back on track.”
This change was inevitable. It was obvious after the Giants series that something needed to change. Gabe Kapler managed circles around Girardi, it was evident.
Girardi is not the only reason this team has underperformed. They are reliant on a bullpen built around aging veterans, who are all past their primes. They have no outfield depth. They aren’t developing young players. They can’t score runs when they need to. They can’t hold leads when they get them.
With Girardi out now, the door should open for more young players to see more time. Due to Jean Segura’s injury, Bryson Stott should play every day for the next 10-12 weeks. Unless he struggles in the field, he should be given every opportunity to figure it out with his bat. Mickey Moniak should get the same deal. They don’t have anyone else who can play center other than Odubel Herrera. Herrera is fine defensively, but Moniak deserves every opportunity to show that he can play in the MLB. AAA isn’t going to help these guys get better anymore. They’ve both shown they are better than that. It would be a waste of time optioning either one of them. How would they be better getting consistent playing time against worse competition when they could have the same, consistent playing time against the best competition in the world? It’s the same case with AAA closer Francisco Morales. He has pitched three innings in the MLB. He has dominated at every minor league level. Give him more innings than Brad Hand and Jeurys Familia.
The Phillies have a lot of digging to do. Almost all of that digging is in-house. They can spend more money than the Mets if they really want to, but in two or three years when all their free agents start to decline, it’s going to get really bad, really quick.
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Categorized:Phillies