Kyle Schwarber expects contract talks to pick up with Phillies at the end of the season
Kyle Schwarber is in the middle of his best season yet as a Phillie.
He’s third in the National League in home runs (24), walks (56), and eighth in on-base percentage (.378) and ninth in slugging percentage (.535). His 148 OPS+ would be the highest of his career since 2021, when he posted a 149 OPS+ with the Nationals and Red Sox.
June has always been known as Schwarber’s month, but he’s on track to have an OPS below .800 in June for the first time in his career.
Despite his struggles in recent weeks, Schwarber has still been the Phillies’ best offensive player in 2025. He’s a free agent at the end of the year. Locking him up to a long-term deal has to be a priority if you’re the Phillies.
The Phillies reportedly offered Schwarber an extension during the offseason, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal back in April. Talks reportedly “failed to advance” beyond an initial proposal.
Schwarber, at this point, is all but certain to test the market. Once the time eventually comes, however, Schwarber expects the conversation between his camp and the Phillies to pick back up.
He spoke about his upcoming free agency in a conversation with Deesha Thosar of Fox Sports.
“I know from our side that as soon as the season’s over, whenever the time is appropriate, some sort of conversation will be had,” Schwarber told Thosar. “I got a lot of respect for the Phillies organization, and obviously for the players here, and the management and things like that. They’ve done a lot for me. And that’s why I don’t think that it’s just going to be a goodbye, right? There’ll be some sort of conversation.”
Teams have a five-day exclusive negotiating period with their pending free agents that begins after the conclusion of the World Series. A recent example of a big deal getting done during that time frame came when the Mets agreed to a five-year, $102 million deal with closer Edwin Diaz in 2022.
Schwarber’s free agency could play out similarly to Aaron Nola’s back in 2023. Nola and the Phillies could not reach an agreement on an extension in spring training. The two sides tabled discussions until the end of the season. Nola surveyed the market, found at least one interested suitor in the Braves and the Phillies quickly met his asking price. Nola signed back with the Phillies on a seven-year, $172 million deal before Thanksgiving.
It all depends on how robust Schwarber’s market is. Not every big spender has an opening at designated hitter. The Dodgers, who have Shohei Ohtani at DH and Freddie Freeman at first base, can be eliminated. All three of his former teams, the Cubs, Nationals and Red Sox, could be logical fits. It’s tough, however, to go around the league and think of teams who could realistically outbid the Phillies for Schwarber.
The Mets could be one of them, but they might want to keep the DH spot free for the next three to four years for Juan Soto. The Yankees have Giancarlo Stanton under contract for two more seasons after 2025. Maybe the Braves look to shake things up by moving on from free agent Marcell Ozuna and pivoting to Schwarber.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spoke with Thosar about Schwarber’s upcoming free agency.
“Of course, you don’t want to lose a Kyle Schwarber,” Dombrowski said. “He’s a unique talent and he’s a quality individual. We don’t want to lose him. But I think your responsibility, as somebody in my job, is to make your club better in other ways. I’ve lost free-agent players in the past that we’ve gone out and been able to do things. Again, not that you want to lose him. But I don’t think it’s the end of any window or anything.”