HOUSTON -- Dave Dombrowski watched the Phillies celebrate on the field Monday night from a suite behind the visitors’ dugout at Minute Maid Park.

He enjoyed the looks on the faces of the veteran players who have never played in the postseason, including Aaron Nola, Jean Segura, Zack Wheeler, J.T. Realmuto, Rhys Hoskins and Zach Eflin. He said it reminded him of Christmas mornings with his family and watching his children open presents.

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Pure joy.

“It’s just so fun just watching the others celebrate,” Dombrowski said before the Phillies' 3-2 loss in Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Nobody popped any champagne bottles to celebrate the Phillies’ first trip to the postseason since 2011 until interim manager Rob Thomson emerged from his office, grabbed a bottle and said a few words in the clubhouse. Players demanded he speak. Thomson replaced Joe Girardi on June 3 with the Phils sitting at 22-29, despite a franchise-record payroll. Dombrowski believed the Phillies needed a new voice in the clubhouse. He thought Thomson could provide it.

The Phillies went 65-46 (.586) under Thomson to close the season, which was the fourth-best record in the National League.

“He’s been outstanding,” Dombrowski said. “You're very hopeful that we could get back into this thing, but there by no means were definite expectations. We expected him to do well on the job, but he’s exceeded those expectations. He’s been fantastic. He led a season turnaround for us. We were seven games under .500. We’re 20 games above since he’s managed. Great communication with the players, staff members -- I really tip my cap to the job that he’s done for us.”

So when will it be time to make a decision on Thomson’s future? The Angels on Wednesday announced that interim manager Phil Nevin will return next season. They went 46-59 after Nevin replaced Joe Maddon.

“I mean, it’s on my mind, but we really haven’t prioritized that,” Dombrowski said. “We’re just finishing the season.”

Perhaps the Phillies are waiting until after the postseason to make an announcement. But Thomson has history on his side. From 1960-2021, 15 of 16 (93.8%) midseason managerial replacements who led their team to the postseason returned the following year.

Thomson and Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider could be Nos. 16 and 17 on that list.

Major League Baseball’s hiring policies typically require teams to conduct thorough searches that include minority candidates. But the league offers exceptions based on job performance. Based on Thomson engineering a turnaround and guiding the Phillies to the postseason, they will not need to go through that process. 

“He’s our leader at the top,” Bryce Harper said about Thomson. “He’s done a great job making sure that we all stay even-keeled each day [and] that when you go on a winning streak or losing streak, you just keep going. You flush the day before and you understand that you have more and more each day.”

“Just the quiet confidence that he has, it’s been instilled in us just to go play,” Hoskins said. “I think that’s really what we did under him.”

Young players are comfortable around Thomson and veteran players love his steady hand.

He is genuine. He communicates. He cares.

Thomson never seems to panic.

“I’ve often said managing is a learned skill,” Dombrowski said. “To have a tough loss and then come out and have to deal with the media five minutes after a game, that really is a learned skill. I know I’m emotional after we first lose, then 15-20 minutes later, I’m OK. Somehow, he’s been able to capture that learned skill very well. I think it’s good for a team.”

Thomson has been good for the Phillies. He will manage them in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series on Friday afternoon in St. Louis. It will be 11 years to the day since the Phils played their last postseason game Game 5 of the NL Division Series against the Cardinals on Oct. 7, 2011.

Whether or not the Phillies beat the Cardinals, Thomson has earned the right to return in 2023.

“He’s a big reason why we’re here right now,” Harper said.

Deep down, Thomson probably appreciates those words. Publicly, accolades and attention make him uncomfortable.

“I think it’s a great compliment, but it doesn’t mean I have to agree with what he said,” Thomson said. “It’s a group effort from everybody -- from our coaching staff, our sports staff, training staff, player development, front office. We had a lot of great moves at the Trade Deadline to bring in people, and at the start of the year, we just weren’t playing well. We weren’t playing to our capability. But I always felt like we were going to get there. And we did. I just happened to come in at the right time.”