Kyle Schwarber is scheduled to become a free agent at the end of 2025. (Madeline Ressler/Phillies Nation)
Kyle Schwarber is off to an amazing start.
Schwarber leads the National League in home runs and has a .999 OPS. The Phillies have needed every bit of Schwarber’s offensive outburst with Bryce Harper and others not getting off to the start they had hoped for. The only downside is his price tag has risen.
Just how much could Schwarber get on the free agent market? He could do better than the four years and $79 million he got in his first contract with the Phillies. One MLB insider thinks Schwarber could make $100 million.
Jeff Passan of ESPN wrote an interesting article predicting the next batch of nine figure free-agent contracts. He had this to say about Schwarber:
A designated hitter who’s going to be 33 next Opening Day getting a nine-figure deal? Schwarber is an outlier in so many other respects, so why not here, too? He is terminally productive. He is an exceptional clubhouse leader. Nobody would blink at giving him $25 million a year, and a four-year ask — particularly in a class weak on high-end bats — is eminently reasonable.
The Phillies did engage with Schwarber’s camp about a potential extension during the offseason, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Talks did not lead to a deal, but as Jayson Stark said during a radio appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic, Schwarber is open to in-season talks with the Phillies.
It’s a matter of supply and demand. There are not a lot of truly excellent hitters available next year. Outfielder Kyle Tucker could sign for $500 million. Pete Alonso will likely opt out and make more than the two years, $54 million he got from the Mets last season. Schwarber’s age — he’ll be 33 in 2026 — and his lack of positional flexibility will hurt him, but he has not shown signs of slowing down. If anything, he is the best possible version of himself. He hits for power, hits lefties and gets on-base. His strikeout rate is also down from 28.5% in 2024 to 21.2% in 2025.
It’s also hard to put a price on what Schwarber has meant to the franchise. He was signed in 2022 to not only hit home runs, but to bring the clubhouse together. It’s not a coincidence that the Phillies have made the postseason in every year since Schwarber has signed with the club. He has done enough on the field and beyond to go onto the Phillies Wall of Fame one day, even if 2025 is his final year with the team.
Maybe there is some regression to mean. Maybe there isn’t and Schwarber has saved his best season with the Phillies for last. It helps that Schwarber clearly has interest in staying with the Phillies beyond 2025, but with every home run, the price keeps going up.
