Phillies fire Gabe Kapler after two seasons

After deliberating for over 10 days, the Philadelphia Phillies have fired manager Gabe Kapler after two seasons, per Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Kapler had another year left on the contract that he signed when he was tabbed as the 54th manager in franchise history in October of 2017. In two seasons under Kapler’s leadership, the Phillies went 161-163.

The Phillies will now search for their fourth manager since firing Charlie Manuel – the winningest manager in team history – in August of 2013. Internally, bench coach Rob Thomson and third base coach Dusty Wathan, the runner-up to Kapler in the team’s last managerial search, figure to draw consideration. While it’s best not to put yourself in a box at the outset of a managerial search, it feels entirely possible that the Phillies will ultimately select a manager with past success at the major league level after taking a chance on Kapler, who had just limited minor league managing experience before coming to Philadelphia.

We’ll have more on this story as it develops.

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