How Kyle Schwarber can reach legendary slugger status with new Phillies contract

In what was not an unexpected move, the Philadelphia Phillies finally made some noise this offseason when they brought back Kyle Schwarber on a five-year, $150 million deal at the recent Winter Meetings.

Over his previous four years in red pinstripes, Schwarber has been a leader and a spark plug for the club both on and off the field.

Now, with five more years of playing in Philadelphia, the slugger has a chance to do something that only 28 other players in MLB history (and only one Phillies player) have done: eclipse 500 career home runs.

Kyle Schwarber has a chance to reach 500 career home runs with the Phillies

While Schwarber can mash with the best of them, hitting 500 home runs in a career is one of the most difficult feats to accomplish in all of sports. However, his path for joining the likes of some of the all-time greats is not unfathomable.

The Phillies' designated hitter will bring 340 long balls into the 2026 season. According to Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer, if he averages 32 home runs over the five years of his contract, Schwarber will reach the milestone in 2030.

Not totally crazy right? He has already hit more than 32 home runs in each of his first four seasons with the Phillies. From 2022 through 2025, he hit 46, 47, 38, and 56 dingers in each season, respectively. Overall, Schwarber has knocked 187 balls out of the yard in 627 games with the organization.

Now, he needs 160 more Schwarbombs to reach the 500 home run club. If he stays healthy and in the lineup, it is actually reasonable to think that this is a possiblity.

Obviously age can factor in when it comes to a player's health, but the fact that Schwarber will not be playing defense certainly helps tame that notion a bit. Also, in 2025, his age-32 season, the slugger's 77.3 mph average bat speed ranked fifth in baseball which indicates that he is not entering a decline anytime really soon.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson is not concerned about how his newly paid designated hitter will fare heading into his mid-thirties as he stated that he believes Schwarber is in the best shape of his life.

Should he eventually join the 28 players who have mashed 500 bombs, he will join Mike Schmidt, who had 548, as just the second Phillies player to get there.

If you would have asked anyone in 2022 when Schwarber first signed with the Phillies if this was a ever a conversation that would be had, most would have thought you were losing it. That just shows how valuable his arrival was and has been to the organization.

Here's to five years of rooting for him to help lead a parade down Broad Street while smashing 160 more home runs in the process.