Schwarber Signing A Good Deal For Phillies

by Marc Narducci | Dec 19, 2025

On paper, it might not seem like a sound idea to sign a player who will be 33-years-old entering the season and who is mainly a designated hitter for five more years.

Yet, the Phillies drew universal praise for signing their free agent Kyle Schwarber to a five-year $150 million contract and rightly so.

Schwarber turns 33 in March, but he hasn’t shown any signs of his bat speed slowing down. This past season he was second in the MVP voting to Shohei Ohtani.

Schwarber appeared in all 162 regular season games. His slash line was .240/.365/.563. More impressively he led the National League in both home runs (56) and RBI (132). He added another two home runs in the Phillies playoff series loss to eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. His OPS+ for the season was 150, which was sixth in MLB.

Originally, the Phillies probably didn’t want to offer Schwarber five years, but published reports indicated other teams including the Baltimore Orioles, were willing to do that.

The Phillies simply weren’t going to be outbid.

In 2022 Schwarber signed with the Phillies as a free agent. He inked a four-year, $79 million contract, which many considered an absolute bargain.

Before Schwarber’s Philadelphia arrival in 2022, the Phillies had not qualified for the playoffs since 2011. With Schwarber, they have appeared in the playoffs all four years.

One of the knocks against Schwarber is that he couldn’t hit left-handed pitching well. This past season he hit more home runs against lefthanders than anybody in baseball, 23.

During his four years in Philadelphia, he has a .226/.349/.507 slash line. He has 187 home runs and 434 RBI, which come out to an average of 46.7 home runs and 108.5 RBI.

Yes, the batting average is low, but Schwarber’s on base percentage of .349 is strong, especially for a power hitter. Even by today’s standards, he still strikes out at an alarming rate (809 in his four Phillies seasons), but one reason his on base percentage is so high for a slugger is that he has averaged 106.5 walks in his four Phillies seasons.

Schwarber is also a proven winner. He has appeared in the playoffs in 10 of his 11 MLB seasons. In 38 playoff games for the Phillies he is hitting .216/.363/.567 with 14 home runs and 38 RBI and 26 runs scored.

He has also been praised by manager Rob Thomson and president of baseball operations for his tremendous leadership. Between that and his production, they weren’t going to allow him to go.

Is there worry about what the contract will look like when he is 37 and entering the final year?

Sure, but again, with his short compact swing, he should be able to continue to produce at a high level.

The Phillies have to get younger, and they are headed on the path with Justin Crawford likely an outfield starter this season and shortstop Aidan Miller likely ready by next year if not before then. Miller is considered to be the Phillies third baseman of the future.

Still if the Phillies are going to rebound from consecutive playoff losses in the National League Division Series, then the veterans will have to produce. Schwarber is a big part of this and based on his track record, the Phillies should continue to be in the hunt for the postseason as long as he is on the team.

Kyle Schwarber / Marc Narducci

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Author: Marc Narducci

Schwarber Signing A Good Deal For Phillies

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