The Philadelphia Phillies faced their first real test of the season with a three-game homestand against the Los Angeles Dodgers — and aced it. Philly won two of three behind excellent pitching and a few well-timed offensive explosions. Shout out to everyone's favorite political bellwether, Nick Castellanos.
At 7-2, the Phillies are first place in the NL East. It's way too early in the season for that to mean anything, but the Dodgers were beating up on quality opponents before hitting a brick wall in Philadelphia. That's an encouraging sign. With the Atlanta Braves owning quite literally the worst record in baseball, the vibes couldn't be much higher.
That said, Dave Dombrowski and the front office are under real pressure to keep their foremost slugger off the market. Kyle Schwarber, in the final year of his contract, is off to a sensational start. He's already up to four home runs and eight RBI, batting .265 with a 1.037 OPS. Those numbers are bound to cool eventually, but Schwarbs is doing what Schwarbs does. He is baseball's most daunting leadoff hitter.
The Phillies presumably want to lock him up right now for the right price, but the market is always shifting in MLB. Recent events put increased pressure on the Phillies to get pen on paper before it's too late.
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Phillies need to wrap up Kyle Schwarber extension as free agent appeal spikes
The 2026 free agency market is looking awfully grim following Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s landmark $500 million extension with the Toronto Blue Jays. Suddenly, Kyle Tucker is the lone offensive superstar, with Schwarber quite possibly cemented as the second-best available bat. That is, if the Phillies let it reach that point.
It has always been a ticking clock. In MLB's current financial environment, contract demands are going up, not down, and Schwarber is so essential to what the Phillies do offensively.
He's not perfect, of course. The strikeouts are enervating at times and it's fair to wonder if he is truly best optimized as the leadoff man ahead of Trea Turner. No matter your opinion on Schwarber, however, there's no denying the intimidation factor and pop he brings to Philadelphia's lineup. He's a walks machine with a terrifying swing that yields more home runs per hack than anybody in baseball (at least, it feels that way...).
Philadelphia has the chance to clear significant cap space next winter and operate with aggression in free agency, but again, the list of superior bats is... short. Unless the Phillies are irrationally confident in signing Kyle Tucker, there's not much reason to put off a Schwarber extension. In fact, it may be Schwarber who nips those talks in the bud, opting instead to test the open market and potentially rake in more cash elsewhere.
Dombrowski has made his reputation on aggressive spending. The Phils' last couple years have been marred by half-measures and hesitation, though. Letting Schwarber out the door would be a catastrophic misstep.