ORLANDO, Fla. — Slugger Kyle Schwarber and the Philadelphia Phillies are finalizing a five-year, $150 million contract, sources informed ESPN on Tuesday, reuniting the Nationwide League dwelling run chief and the franchise with whom he blossomed right into a perennial MVP candidate.
Following a frenzied free company that noticed efforts to signal Schwarber by the New York Mets, Boston Pink Sox, Baltimore Orioles and even small-market groups in Pittsburgh and his hometown Cincinnati, a late push by Philadelphia secured the 32-year-old a uncommon big-money, long-term deal for a chosen hitter.
Coming off a division collection loss to the eventual World Collection champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies balked at life with out Schwarber, their clear clubhouse chief and a extremely revered determine within the recreation. His propensity for clutch hits buoyed Philadelphia in 2025, when he completed second in MVP voting after hitting .240/.365/.563 with 56 dwelling runs and an NL-leading 132 RBIs.
“We have at all times needed him again. He is so completely different than a lot of the guys I’ve ever been round,” mentioned Phillies supervisor Rob Thomson. “He is an awesome participant and he is aware of the right way to carry the heartbeat of a clubhouse down when issues are going tough. He is simply an enormous a part of our ballclub.”
Schwarber has been a mannequin of slugging consistency since becoming a member of the Phillies in 2022 on a four-year, $79 million deal, hitting not less than 38 dwelling runs in every of his 4 seasons. This yr, he performed all 162 video games for the primary time in his profession, turned the twenty first participant in MLB historical past to hit 4 dwelling runs in a recreation and was one in every of simply 5 gamers with not less than 100 walks.
Past his prodigious energy, Schwarber is thought to be a titan within the Phillies’ locker room, a status that made him much more interesting to groups as he almost doubled the assure from his final foray into free company. Getting old DHs hardly ever get multiyear offers on the open market, not to mention ones at $30 million a yr, however Schwarber was an outlier in a number of regardless.
“Simply the work ethic. The physique has gotten higher over time,” mentioned Thomson about Schwarber’s sturdiness. “He is in the perfect form of his life proper now. I do not suppose that is going to alter.”
The three-time All-Star discovered the perfect model of himself in his 30s after profitable the 2016 World Collection with the Chicago Cubs and getting non-tendered by them earlier than spending 2021 with the Nationals and Pink Sox. Seen as a one-dimensional participant then, Schwarber went to Philadelphia and changed into way more, destroying left-handed pitching that groups deployed to neutralize his highly effective left-handed swing.
In his 4 years with the Phillies, Schwarber hit 14 dwelling runs in 38 postseason video games and was a continuing on-base risk close to the highest of Philadelphia’s lineup. Six of the house runs got here throughout Philadelphia’s run to the 2022 World Collection, the place it misplaced in six video games to Houston. Whereas Philadelphia entered the offseason seeking to retool a crew that stalled out within the playoffs, shedding Schwarber proved too tough to abdomen, even with the cadre of groups pursuing him.
With Alex Bregman hitting free company after one yr in Boston and Pete Alonso opting out of his cope with the Mets, each groups thought-about including Schwarber to their lineup. Baltimore made a robust push, sources mentioned, as did Pittsburgh, which supplied a high-dollar four-year deal that will have greater than tripled its earlier largest contract given out in free company.
Cincinnati, the darkish horse due to its want for an influence bat and its enchantment to Schwarber — who grew up about half-hour outdoors of the town — didn’t meet the monetary calls for others have been prepared to.
Finally, it led to alternative for the Phillies to strike and retain a fearsome high of the order, with leadoff hitter Trea Turner, Schwarber and Bryce Harper. How Philadelphia navigates the remainder of the winter — with longtime catcher J.T. Realmuto reaching free company, a number of every-day gamers who’re commerce candidates and proficient prospects Aidan Miller and Justin Crawford on the cusp of the large leagues — can be among the many most fascinating storylines over the winter.
The Phillies received the NL East division for the second consecutive season in 2025, profitable the second-most video games in MLB earlier than operating right into a Dodgers crew that ousted them following an Eleventh-inning error in Sport 4 of the division collection. Upon the completion of the World Collection, Philadelphia made re-signing Schwarber its clear precedence.
His signing is predicted to speed up a free agent market that, so far, has moved slowly. The vast majority of high free brokers in each the hitting (Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, Bo Bichette, Munetaka Murakami, Bregman and Alonso) and pitching (Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suarez, Michael King and Zac Gallen) markets stay accessible.
In 11 seasons because the Cubs drafted him with the fourth total pick of Indiana College, Schwarber has hit .231/.346/.500 with 340 dwelling runs, 784 RBIs and 800 runs scored, twice main the NL in dwelling runs.
ESPN’s Jesse Rogers contributed to this report