Kyle Schwarber has been a key factor of the Philadelphia Phillies success since signing as a free agent in 2022. Only Aaron Judge has more home runs than Schwarber’s 113 since the start of the 2022 season and the 32-year-old’s .495 slugging percentage ranks sixth among leadoff hitters with a minimum of 500 at-bats during that timeframe.
That presence at the top of the order is why the Phillies’ offense ranked fifth in baseball with 4.84 runs per game last season and ranks 10th with 4.91 runs per game through the first two weeks of this season. But the Phillies have had a hard time putting a price on Schwarber’s value as contract discussions stalled out over the course of Spring Training.
At this point of the season, Schwarber is making the Phillies regret that decision and if his production continues, Philadelphia could pay with a bigger asking price or his departure at the end of this season.
Kyle Schwarber Is Making Phillies Pay For Shelving Contract Talks
Schwarber has served as the Phillies’ leadoff hitter throughout most of his time in Philadelphia. But manager Rob Thomson decided to switch things up by placing Trea Turner at the top of the lineup and moving Schwarber down to the cleanup spot early this season. While the change has produced big results, it has also awakened Schwarber, who is hitting .293/.420/.732 with five home runs and 11 RBI in the first 11 games.
This would be great news under regular circumstances. But it’s coming at the wrong time for the Phillies as Schwarber enters the final year of his contract. The 32-year-old has done everything right as he looks to secure another big-money deal including spending time at first base during Spring Training, but The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal noted that he turned down an extension as he prefers to go year-to-year with his contracts.
“The Phillies offered him an extension during the offseason, but after an initial proposal, talks failed to advance,” Rosenthal wrote. “Schwarber was content going year to year after turning down an extension with the Cubs early in his career. And while he wants to stay in Philadelphia, he’s also content playing out his free-agent year.”
Putting up Babe Ruth numbers is one way to get paid. While Schwarber has defensive limitations, there is a market for elite designated hitters as Joc Pederson signed a two-year, $37 million contract with the Texas Rangers last offseason. If Schwarber can show some worth in the field, he could easily clear that number perhaps in the range of Pete Alonso’s two-year, $54 million contract signed with the New York Mets.
Of course, Alonso is an everyday first baseman and Schwarber’s contract could fall somewhere between the annual range of $18.5 to $27 million per season. But after getting $19.75 million per year in the four-year, $79 million pact with the Phillies in 2022, Schwarber is set to cash in again and Philadelphia may be kicking itself for not getting a contract done sooner.