Anthony Contreras was on his way to Syracuse — traveling alone in a rental car — when he got a call from Phillies director of player development Luke Murton and general manager Preston Mattingly.

The call was somewhat cryptic, but being the good soldier that he is, Contreras followed the directions for him to turn around and go back to the Lehigh Valley.

Neither of the executives were very forthcoming with details, but they did say that they would need the IronPigs manager to coach third base in Philadelphia the next night rather than serve as the IronPigs manager.

If his baseball senses kicked in, Contreras likely knew that Rob Thomson’s time with the Phillies was coming to an end and there were changes afoot.

Coaching third base would have meant something was up with former IronPigs manager Dusty Wathan as well.

The details became sharply clear the next day when Thomson was fired, Don Mattingly took over as the Phillies interim manager, and Wathan was being elevated to bench coach.

The ripples from the change of manager in Philadelphia reached Syracuse when Chris “Tank” Adamson got the call to take over the team for the rest of the season.

Tank, as he prefers to be called, becomes the first manager to take over the IronPigs in the middle of a season. He also becomes the first IronPigs manager not born in the United States.

The Australian native has served as Contreras’ bench coach since 2024. Prior to that he had managed the Phillies Florida Complex League and served as a bench coach with the Jersey Shore BlueClaws, the Phillies High-A affiliate.

After the whirlwind of activity in Syracuse, Adamson will now get to check out his new office at Coca-Cola Park.

He started the homestand with an 11:30 Education Day game this morning against the Buffalo Bisons, the Toronto Blue Jays Triple-A affiliate.

DON’T MISS THESE IDEAS ... The IronPigs front office is known for taking advantage of any potential marketing idea. With an Australian at the helm, can a Koala alternate team identity be far behind? Maybe playing “Down Under” by Men At Work will become a seventh-inning stretch tradition. And of course, The Rally ‘Roo — a kangaroo who appears on the video board to get fans riled up whenever the Pigs need a rally, complete with a plush kangaroo doll for the kids.

ON THE FIELD ... Adamson did get his first win as Lehigh Valley’s manager, but it didn’t come until the fifth game of the series against the Syracuse Mets. Syracuse, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees), and Worcester (Red Sox) are all 18-14 and at the top of the International League East Division standings. Jacksonville (Marlins) and Lehigh Valley are both 17-16, and 1 ½ games out in the division.

SPEAKING OF SWB ... We’re 33 games into the season and the IronPigs haven’t played the RailRiders yet. The two teams are natural rivals because of their proximity geographically. Their first meeting is in a couple of weeks when Scranton/Wilkes-Barre comes to Coca-Cola Park. It’s possible that shortstop Anthony Volpe, who at one time was the shortstop of the future for the Yanks, will be with Scranton. After being on the Injured List and completing a rehab assignment, Volpe was optioned to the RailRiders. Volpe spent the first month of the season on the IL recovering from shoulder surgery, and Jose Caballero appears to have officially stolen his job after Volpe hit just .212 last season.

ALUMNI UPDATE ... Kyle Schwarber is the co-leader for home runs this season in the National League. Any guesses who the other player with 11 home runs is? None other than former Lehigh Valley IronPig Mickey Moniak, who is now employed by Colorado. The former first overall pick slugged 24 home runs last season with 68 RBIs and hit .270 with the Rockies. In 28 games this year, his 11-21-.333 production is noteworthy. The Rockies are coming to Philadelphia this weekend.

AMONG THE BEST ... Christian Cairo is 10th in the IL with a .440 OBP, and tied for fourth in walks with 27. Liover Peguero and Caleb Ricketts are both tied for seventh with 10 doubles, and Sergio Alcantara is tied for the league lead in walks with 28. No Lehigh Valley pitchers show up among the league leaders. As a team, Lehigh Valley is 12th in batting average at .256, and 16th in home runs with 32.