Why Kyle Schwarber chose to stay with Phillies for long haul: ‘Those are things that you don’t forget’
ORLANDO, Fla. — Shortly into his pivotal offseason and the free-agent frenzy that came along with it, Kyle Schwarber met with the two highest-ranking members of the Phillies organization. The slugger sat down with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski once the season ended for the team, and owner John Middleton visited Schwarber’s house in the Philadelphia area.
The Phillies brass made its pitch and walked Schwarber through the plan for the future. Obviously, the club preferred that the veteran hitter remained a crucial part of it. Then the Phillies gave Schwarber some space to go back home to Ohio for the winter and entertain discussions with other teams. There was wide interest in him following a career year. But when it came time to decide where to spend the rest of his prime years, those talks with the Phillies stuck in Schwarber’s mind.
“Those were conversations that I just never forgot,” Schwarber, who re-signed with the Phillies on Tuesday, said the next day via Zoom. “You go through the offseason and you start having different conversations with different teams. Just because those conversations were more fresh doesn’t mean that anything was forgotten, right? I know that was an important time and important conversations with Dave and Mr. Middleton that we had.”
Of course, the five years and $150 million was certainly a motivating factor. But the words from Dombrowski and Middleton, along with Schwarber’s experience through his first four seasons in Philadelphia, made a difference. The left-handed hitter, once a young and up-and-coming player with the Cubs, was non-tendered in 2020 after a disappointing season. He bounced back in 2021 with the Nationals and Red Sox, then signed a four-year deal with the Phillies.
Since 2022, Schwarber has developed into a star. He’s hit 187 home runs with the Phillies and helped the team reach the postseason in all four seasons. Schwarber has ignited the Citizens Bank Park crowd with spectacular power displays, and the fans have rewarded him with MVP chants and pleas to stay. And after reaching the new commitment, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. While Schwarber etched his name in baseball history with his World Series heroics in 2016 as he helped break Chicago’s 108-year curse on one leg, he guaranteed that he’ll be most remembered as a Phillie with this contract.
“I think resonating with an organization and resonating with a fanbase is a huge part of why you do it,” Schwarber said. “You want people, you want young kids, you want anyone to be at a game and, at the end of the day, you look up and you want them to be wearing your jersey or look at their mom and dad and say, ‘Hey, I want to be like Kyle.’ Whatever it is, those are things that you don’t take lightly. And in those moments — the whole ‘sign back in Philadelphia’ — those are awesome moments. Those are things that you don’t forget.”
The Phillies are taking some risk with their lucrative contract with Schwarber. He’ll be 33 years old next season and will be 37 when his deal is up. They will be spending a lot on an aging designated hitter, and the arrangement does limit some of Philadelphia’s lineup flexibility. But Schwarber hit 56 home runs in 2025. That’s nearly impossible to replace.
Schwarber is also a valued Phillies leader. He’s supremely talented, personable and reliable. His presence has been a factor in the club’s success in recent years. And if this current core of players is able to win a World Series championship, there’s no doubt that Schwarber will be a serious contributor.
“You hope that as a player, at the end of the day, that you’re going to leave your mark on an organization and a fanbase,” Schwarber said. “And I’m glad that I’m going to have five more years to continue to do that here in Philadelphia.”