Phillies fire Girardi after disappointing 22-29 start

Dodgers’ massive payroll will cost them $47M in luxury tax

PHILADELPHIA — Joe Girardi managed a Phillies team with the reigning NL MVP, five 2021 All-Stars, a $224 million payroll that nudged the franchise above the luxury tax and expectations of ending the longest playoff drought in the National League.

Buried deep in the NL East standings, and with a sagging bullpen, defensive deficiencies and slumbering starts from some of their high-priced veterans, Girardi paid the price for Philadelphia’s miserable start. He was fired Friday, becoming the first major league manager to lose his job this season after failing to turn a team with a record payroll into a playoff contender.

Bench coach Rob Thomson was named interim manager.

Expected to contend for the NL East title, the Phillies entered Friday 22-29 and 12 games behind the first-place New York Mets. The Phillies were 5 1/2 games out of a wildcard spot.

“Oh, I think we can make the playoffs. I think we’re in a position where we can battle back to do that. I do believe that,” president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.

Girardi’s first year with Philadelphia was the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Phillies went 82-80 last year and he ends his tenure with a 132-141 record. Girardi managed the New York Yankees from 2008-17 and the Florida Marlins in 2006.

The Phillies had lost 12 of 17 games heading into the opener of Friday’s three-game home series agaionst the Los Angeles Angels. Philly responded with a 10-0 win.

“We underperformed and that falls on me. This is what happens,” Girardi told SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio.

The Phillies still boast NL MVP Bryce Harper and NL Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and freeagent sluggers Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber. Yet Philadelphia hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011, hasn’t won the World Series since 2008 and has watched fan interest plummet through a decade-plus of mediocre baseball.

“It’s not something that can’t be fixed and changed,” Dombrowski said. “I think we already started some of those changes this winter time when we made some changes within our system, our organization, a lot of changes, but those things don’t show up overnight.”

The Phillies also fired coaching assistant Bobby Meacham and promoted Mike Calitri to bench coach.

Thomson was Philadelphia’s bench coach and coordinated spring training for the last five seasons. He was hired before the 2018 season.

“I am ready to lead this team and look forward to getting to work and turning this around,” he said.

LUXURY TAX: The Los Angeles Dodgers opened the season with an all-time high $310.6 million payroll for purposes of the luxury tax and are on track to pay a record tax of nearly $47 million, according to figures compiled by Major League Baseball and obtained by The Associated Press.

Five teams exceeded the $230 million threshold as of opening day, which if unchanged by the season’s end would be one shy of the most, in 2016.

After adding Freddie Freeman and reaching a big oneyear deal with Trea Turner, Los Angeles was the only team to exceed the new fourth threshold, the so-called Cohen Tax named after New York Mets owner Steven Cohen. But the Dodgers’ payroll would drop by about $28.1 million if the domestic violence suspension of pitcher Trevor Bauer is upheld by an arbitrator. The Dodgers’ payroll included $34 million for Bauer, the average of his $102 million, three-year contract.

The Mets, in their second season since Cohen bought the team, were second at $289.3 million — $667,278 below the Cohen Tax. That left them on track for a tax payment of just under $22.5 million after adding pitcher Max Scherzer, center fielder Starling Marte, outfielder Mark Canha and All-Star infielder Eduardo Escobar.

The Yankees were third at $261.4 million, which would cause a tax of $7.6 million.

KAAT APOLOGY: Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes says Minnesota Twins broadcaster Jim Kaat reached out and apologized after referring to New York’s breakout pitching star as “Nestor the Molester” during a broadcast Thursday night.

“Jim Kaat has spent an entire lifetime in this game we love,” Cortes tweeted Friday. “He reached out to me and apologized for his remark last night, but he didn’t need to. We all make mistakes and feel 100% there was no malice intended. I plan on lifting him up with this tweet and I hope others do too. No sweat here Jim!”

DONALDSON: Josh Donaldson was activated from the 10-day injured list and in the lineup for the New York Yankees on Friday night for the first time since being suspended by Major League Baseball for a remark to Chicago White Sox star Tim Anderson.

Donaldson was suspended one game for making multiple references about Jackie Robinson while talking to Anderson on May 21.