Kyle Schwarber will be staying in Philadelphia after all.
According to Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports, Schwarber and the Phillies are finalizing a five-year, $150 million contract.
Schwarber, 32, was expected to be one of the most coveted players on the market after smashing a career-high 56 home runs last season and finishing second in the NL MVP vote.
Schwarber is the king of what is known as the “three true outcomes” in baseball: home runs, walks and strikeouts. That phrase is used to describe players whose plate appearances most often end in one of those three results.
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Schwarber fits that bill perfectly. Since his major-league debut in 2015, Schwarber has a 14.2% walk rate and a 28.4% strikeout rate and has hit 340 home runs. Those figures rank ninth, 10th and second, respectively, among players with at least 3,000 plate appearances over that period.
Due to his high strikeout rate, Schwarber has typically posted batting averages below the league average. He has more than made up for that with his tremendous on-base and slugging numbers, but his career .231 batting average is less than optimal.
Given his extreme approach, Schwarber’s ability to remain effective as he ages is a significant question. If he either his batting eye or his power declines, he’s unlikely to make up for that loss by improving his batting average. And if his ability to make contact wavers or his strikeout rate shoots up higher, Schwarber could flirt with a near-unplayable batting average.
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But the hope is that Schwarber has a few more years of peak productivity left before Father Time comes for him. He entered free agency after one of the finest years of his career, leading MLB in home runs (56) and RBI (132) with the Phillies in 2025.
That wasn’t all due to good fortune. Schwarber showed strides in 2025 despite his age. He dropped his strikeout rate to 27.2%, his lowest mark since 2021, and posted a better batting average against lefties for the second straight season.
His willingness to continue to make adjustments resulted in a career year in 2025. That same drive could help Schwarber stave off decline for a few more seasons, allowing the Phillies to continue employing a bona fide slugger in the middle of their lineup for years to come.
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