With the National League Silver Slugger Award finalists announced on Wednesday, two Phillies got the nod for their fine 2025 seasons. Kyle Schwarber is a finalist at designated hitter while Trea Turner is a finalist at shortstop.
They both face an uphill battle to win this year, but Schwarber's competition will be particularly interesting for Phillies fans. The Phillies slugger was named a finalist alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani in what is likely a preview of the NL MVP voting.
Schwarber made a real push in the MVP race this season, possibly his final one in red pinstripes. However, we all know what Ohtani brings to the table, and it won't be surprising to see Schwarber play second fiddle to the Dodgers' two-way phenom in both the Silver Slugger and MVP.
The key difference between the two awards is that the Silver Slugger is voted on by MLB managers and coaches, considering just offensive production. The Baseball Writers' Association of America votes for the MVP and considers all facets of the game.
Does Kyle Schwarber stand a chance against Shohei Ohtani for either Silver Slugger or MVP?
Schwarber played in all 162 games this year and led the NL with a career-high 56 home runs. There was a time when it looked like he might even eclipse Ryan Howard's franchise single-season record of 58 homers.
There were even fleeting thoughts of the magical 60 plateau. That might have given Schwarber a better shot at overcoming the Ohtani-ness of it all for both awards.
Schwarber led the majors with 132 RBIs, easily a career high, as was his final tally of 11 runs scored. He hit .240 with a .928 OPS and added 23 doubles and 10 stolen bases. He also set career bests in wRC+ (152) and fWAR (4.9) thanks to his insane 20.8 percent barrel rate (the MLB average was 8.6 percent).
KYLE SCHWARBER FOUR HOME RUN GAME ARE YOU KIDDING pic.twitter.com/GY7JA2x721
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 29, 2025
So, how does Ohtani stack up? Pretty well, obviously.
As the hands-down NL MVP favorite, Ohtani trailed Schwarber in home runs (55) and RBIs (102) but hit .282 with an NL-best 1.014 OPS and 146 runs scored, which led the majors.
It will also help Ohtani's MVP case that he returned to the mound and looked as good as ever. After making his Dodgers pitching debut in mid-June, the right-hander posted a 2.87 ERA and 1.04 WHIP with 11.87 K/9 and 1.72 BB/9. All told, Ohtani compiled 7.5 fWAR, the highest in the NL and fourth across the majors.
Unfortunately for Schwarber, the final MVP poll from the folks at MLB.com handed Ohtani a sizeable advantage. They gave him 36 first-place votes, while Schwarber received only four.
Phillies fans would love to see Schwarber recognized for his season with at least one of these individual awards. However, it's safe to say that almost everyone would gladly forgo both a Silver Slugger Award and an MVP for a new contract that keeps the pending free agent in a Phillies uniform.
It certainly would be surprising to see Schwarber top Ohtani in MVP voting this time around, but a second career Silver Slugger might not be so far-fetched for the 32-year-old. We'll have to wait and see, as the NL Silver Slugger Award winners will be announced on Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. ET on The Baseball Insiders live stream on YouTube.