The Philadelphia Phillies are being predicted to sign a player to a $150 million contract in MLB free agency.
The Philadelphia Phillies will have some tough decisions to make this offseason, and perhaps the most difficult one will be determining what to do with Kyle Schwarber.
Schwarber is the top power bat available in free agency, and after spending his last four seasons in Philadelphia, the general consensus is that he will re-sign with the Phillies.
However, Schwarber staying in the City of Brotherly Love is no slam dunk.
The 32-year-old has a host of suitors on the open market, and while the Phillies are the favorites to retain him, there is a chance he bolts elsewhere.
That being said, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller is anticipating that Schwarber will re-up with Philadelphia, projecting him to sign for $30 million annually over four or five years.
"After feeling out his market for a day at the Winter Meetings, the Phillies will give Schwarber either a four-year or five-year deal at around $30M per year and will spend the rest of the winter figuring out more budget-friendly solutions at catcher, outfield and bullpen," Miller wrote.
Kyle Schwarber. Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images.The fifth year could be a major sticking point for the Phillies.
Why? Because Schwarber will be 33 by opening day, and he also does not play the field. Those are both pretty significant drawbacks, and Philadelphia may not want to pay top dollar long term for such a one-dimensional player.
Schwarber was brilliant in 2025. He smashed 56 home runs while registering 132 RBI and posting a .928 OPS. He also rattled off over 45 homers in three of the last four campaigns.
But the three-time All-Star is aging, and it should be noted that his OPSes between 2022 and 2024 were all between .817 and .851. So perhaps 2025 was a bit of an anomaly for Schwarber.
Nevertheless, the Phillies don't really have many other options. They could pivot to Kyle Tucker, but that would cost them around $400 million, and Tucker doesn't quite have the same power as Schwarber. Cody Bellinger is another option, but again, Philly would be sacrificing a lot of pop.
Chances are, Philadelphia will pay what it needs to keep Schwarber, but as Miller noted, that will probably prevent the club from making truly major moves elsewhere.