Philadelphia Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber is in the hunt for the NL MVP.
Approaching 33 years old, he is very much in his prime. After this year, Schwarber will become a free agent.
Given his success, Schwarber could be eligible for a $100 million contract. Nevertheless, his future remains uncertain and his market value will be high.
As a result, the Phillies are likely going to go all out to ensure he sticks around, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Altogether, Passan highlights the tangible aspects of Schwarber's talent and the numbers he has put up. Numbers that put up on par with Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
“He plays every day — literally all 139 of the Phillies' games — and in late and close situations this year is OPSing 1.244, nearly 100 points higher than the next-best hitter, Ohtani,” Passan said. “Beyond that, Schwarber is regarded as the stickiest of glue guys, a font of knowledge whose interpersonal acuity makes him invaluable in a clubhouse.”
In essence, Passan makes the case that Schwarber's value and consistency will likely lead to teams fighting over him.
“Because of all he brings, Schwarber is going to get paid,” he said. “Like, paid paid. Teams will scoff because of the age, the strikeouts, the positional inflexibility. But Schwarber's total package will ultimately push some of them off such concerns and trigger a bidding war.”
If the Phillies don't keep Kyle Schwarber, where would he go?
Ultimately, the Phillies are looking to secure a four-five year deal with Schwarber.
“If he wants, he can get at least four years,” Passan said. “The salary, at that term, should be at least $30 million a year.”
Given the circumstances, Passan says the ideal place for Schwarber to say is in Philadelphia. However, if a deal wasn't to materialize, there are other teams that would be more than happy to snatch him up.
“And although remaining in Philadelphia makes the most sense, enough teams have holes at DH — looking at you, Texas, San Diego, Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Cincinnati — that no amount of labor unrest will cause Schwarber's market to dry up” he said.
Schwarber is batting .243 with 126 hits, 49 home runs, and 119 RBIs.
