The Philadelphia Phillies are in control of the National League East largely because of what Kyle Schwarber has been able to do offensively. Sure, their rotation is elite, and guys like Bryce Harper and Trea Turner are excellent players, but Schwarber has hit over double the home runs any other Phillies player has hit, and his .960 OPS is good for third among qualified position players in the majors. He's a legitimate NL MVP candidate.
As fun as it's been to watch Schwarber this season and his entire Phillies tenure, Phillies fans know that the clock could be ticking on his time in Philadelphia due to his contract status. Schwarber is set to hit free agency at the end of the year, and while he's made it clear that he'd love to stay in Philadelphia, no progress has been made regarding an extension. In fact, Schwarber even went out of his way to talk about potentially signing with a different team after Monday's game.
#Phillies Kyle Schwarber on playing in CIN, FA.
— Alex Coll (@Alexcoll_) August 12, 2025
“I’ve always said that at some point in your career, if you would ask the childhood Kyle what team you’d like to play for, it would be Cincinnati,” Schwarber said. “I think those are natural thoughts, that it would be appealing.…
Schwarber is a Middletown, Ohio native who grew up a fan of the Cincinnati Reds. He admitted after the Phillies defeated the Reds on Monday that he's had "natural thoughts" about how "it would be appealing" to come back home. The Phillies losing Schwarber to the Reds would be a tough pill for Phillies fans to swallow for a couple of reasons.
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Phillies can ill-afford to lose Kyle Schwarber in free agency
I get the concerns that'd come from keeping Kyle Schwarber around. Traditionally, 32-year-old power hitters who don't run well and don't play the field don't age well. Schwarber is a DH and a DH only, who only really does two things well - hit home runs and draw walks. Signing him to a lucrative three or four-year deal might look really bad toward the end of the deal, but who cares? The Phillies are a team built to win right now, and it's really hard to envision them doing so without Schwarber.
The Phillies, even with Schwarber tied for the National League-lead in home runs are only 12th in the majors in home runs. Bryce Harper is the only other position player on their roster with more than 15 home runs, and even he isn't quite the 35-home run guy he once was. The Phillies are a bit short on power as is, and would easily be a below-average team in that regard without Schwarber.
Nobody wants to be stuck with a bad contract, but if the Phillies are serious about winning now, they must do whatever they can to keep the veteran slugger around, even if it means having some bad money on the books in 2028.
Losing Kyle Schwarber to hometown discount would hurt even more
It's one thing to lose Schwarber to a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers who seem to figure out a way to sign just about any player they want. It'd be hard to fault Schwarber for wanting to play in Southern California for a team that's proven it can contend for a World Series title each and every year. Losing Schwarber to a team like the Reds that the Phillies can, and presumably will outbid for his services, would sting even more.
There's no telling as to whether Schwarber would actually be willing to leave money on the table to sign with the Reds, but the fact that he's thought about returning home suggests there's a non-zero chance that happens. That alone, even if the odds aren't very high, should frighten Phillies fans.