Arya News - The slugger led all of MLB in home runs and RBI in 2025.
Kyle Schwarber will be staying in Philadelphia after all.
According to Russell Dorsey of Yahoo Sports , Schwarber and the Phillies are reportedly finalizing a five-year, $150 million contract.
Schwarber, 32, was expected to be one of the most coveted players on the market after smashing a career-high 56 home runs last season and finishing second in the NL MVP vote.
While Schwarber was certain to receive a mega-contract, his free-agent prospects were not a guarantee. Schwarber has undoubtedly been an excellent player over his career, but has remained valuable thanks to a unique skill set. Schwarber is the king of what is known as the "three true outcomes" in baseball, home runs, walks and strikeouts. That phrase is typically used to describe players whose plate appearances most often end in one of those three results.
Schwarber fits that bill perfectly. Since his major-league debut back in 2015, Schwarber has a 14.2% walk rate, 28.4% strike out rate and has hit 340 career home runs. Those figures rank ninth, 10th and second, respectively, among players with at least 3,000 plate appearances over that period.
Due to his high strike-out rate, Schwarber has typically posted batting averages below the league average. He"s more than made up for that with his tremendous on-base and slugging numbers, but his career .231 batting average is less than optimal.
Given his extreme approach, Schwarber"s ability to remain effective as he ages is a significant question mark. If he sees either his batting eye or power decline, he"s never going to be the type of hitter to make up for that loss by suddenly improving his batting average. And if his ability to make contact wavers and his strike-out rate shoots up higher, Schwarber is going to flirt with a near-unplayable batting average.
There"s hope Schwarber still has a few more years of productivity before Father Time comes for him. Schwarber entered free agency after one of the finest years of his career. He led all of MLB (56) in home runs and RBI (132) with the Phillies in 2025.
That wasn"t all due to good fortune. Schwarber showed strides in 2025 despite his age. He dropped his strike-out rate to 27.2 percent, his lowest showing in the stat since 2021, and posted a better batting average against lefties for the second-straight season.
His willingness to continue to make adjustments resulted in Schwarber"s career year in 2025. That same drive could help Schwarber stave off decline for a few more seasons allowing the Phillies to continue employing a bonafide slugger in the middle of its lineup for years to come.