The Philadelphia Phillies have a horse in the race when it comes to this year's National League MVP, per MLB.com's Paul Casella. The club's designated hitter Kyle Schwarber has taken his contract year in stride and has propelled himself into a top player in the league. It's also going to make Schwarber's tenure in Philadelphia that much harder to maintain after 2025.
Schwarber's initial four-year deal is set to expire after this season and will make him an unrestricted free agent heading into next season. His value is noticed by so many, but that same value could now be used as leverage by other teams keeping their eye on Schwarber. Those teams could include the Phillies, or even Schwarber's old teams like the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox.
Phillies star Kyle Schwarber's market will be sizable. It could include a number of teams, including teams that have already moved on like the Cubs and Red Sox.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post predicts that Schwarber will re-sign with either the Phillies, Cubs, or Red Sox this winter. Many teams across the league would love to have a slugger like Schwarber in the middle of their lineup, but It's not out of the realm of possibility that his previous teams would be the favorites in this chase. Both the Red Sox and Cubs are currently fringe playoff teams and are missing a star like Schwarber in their starting nine. Such a move could also represent the feeling of trying to get back what they once had with him, since he made a deep playoff run for both clubs.
It almost goes without saying that the Phillies want to keep Schwarber in red pinstripes. With how much the fan base has taken too him, the city would be distraught without him in their future. Like other big stars in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia faithful has made Schwarber feel at home. He's become a home run talent that this city can't afford to miss. The Phillies just need to be willing to pay him whatever price he's racked up for himself this year.
Through his first 44 games, Schwarber has a .241 batting average, .925 OPS and 49 home runs and 120 RBI. He's also turned into a home run king since 2022, as he leads all NL players in home runs with 180 during that span. He also recently became only the 21st player in MLB history to have a four homer game (subscription required).
The Phillies will have their work cut out for them after they failed to negotiate an extension for Schwarber before they got to this point. The Phillies knew the chance they took, and the price has only increased. Other suitors will be hot on the Phillies' heals, but the Phillies feel they have the best chance to re-sign Schwarber.