Phillies coach's confident Kyle Schwarber prediction avoids 'devastating' outcome

Kyle Schwarber is out there on the free agent market, and Philadelphia Phillies fans are hopeful that he'll re-sign and finish his career in red pinstripes. Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long is also hopeful of Schwarber's return and recently predicted that there's a good chance it will happen.

Schwarber is coming off a season with career highs in multiple statistics, including 4.9 fWAR. He led the National League with 56 home runs and his 132 RBIs were the most in MLB. He is one of the top free agents available and has several rumored suitors besides Philadelphia.

Long spoke about Schwarber's free agency with The Philadelphia Inquirer's Scott Lauber on the Phillies Extra podcast and about the chances of free agent Schwarber returning to the Phillies on a new contract. He thinks there's a very high chance of that happening, avoiding a devastating outcome for the organization (subscription required).

Kevin Long expresses high confidence that Kyle Schwarber will re-sign with the Phillies

In response to Lauber's question about his confidence level that Schwarber will remain with the Phillies, Long expressed confidence that the organization and the 32-year-old designated hitter will agree to a deal that will keep him in the "City of Brotherly Love."

"I think it’s very high," Long said about the chances of Schwarber re-signing, per Lauber. "I mean, when you have the owner who wants him, you have Dave Dombrowski who wants him, you have the coaching staff, you have Rob Thomson, you have a fan base. I mean, there’s really everybody involved here wants [him] to be back, including Kyle."

While Schwarber struggled like the rest of the Phillies' offense in the NLDS the last two postseasons, he was, without question, their best offensive player in the 2025 regular season. His .323 ISO, .563 slugging percentage and 152 wRC+ were all career bests.

"So, what does it come down to? What’s his market value, and are we willing to give him his market value? And I think the answer is yes to that," Long said, per Lauber. "And when you put all that into the equation, I think there’s a strong chance that Kyle comes back. I think it would be devastating to this organization and this fan base and everybody involved if he wasn’t a Phillie. So we’ll see where it ends up, but I feel very confident that he’ll be back."

Phillies are not Kyle Schwarber's only free agent suitors

There are rumors that the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox would each be interested in a reunion with Schwarber. He has also expressed interest in playing for his hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds.

Schwarber, who hails from Middletown, Ohio, commented on playing for the Reds both at the All-Star Game and when the Phillies were later playing in Cincinnati.

"I’ve always said that at some point in your career, if you would ask the childhood Kyle what team you’d like to play for, it would be Cincinnati," Schwarber said, per The Athletic's C. Trent Rosecrans (subscription required). “I think those are natural thoughts, that it would be appealing. But you never know what happens in free agency. Going through it a couple of times now, it’s an interesting scenario.”

In accomplished manager Terry Francona's first year with Cincinnati, the organization returned to the playoffs, the first time since the shortened 2020 season. They lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in an NL Wild Card series this October.

The Reds' lineup would benefit from signing Schwarber, one of the best power hitters in MLB. Expectations should be higher next year for Cincinnati in a competitive National League Central division with the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs aiming for playoff spots as well.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and managing partner John Middleton should have a Plan B ready to carry out, just in case they're dealt a massive curveball and Schwarber ends up signing with another club.

However, Phillies fans should have more confidence that he will re-sign with the organization following Long's comments. And it could happen quickly.