Should Philadelphia Phillies Look To Extend Veteran All-Star Slugger?

The Philadelphia Phillies have several notable free agents set to hit the market following the 2025 season, and many of them will result in tough decisions on who to retain and who to let walk.

One such player is power-hitter lead-off man Kyle Schwarber, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this upcoming season, and despite a lack of fielding value has been an absolute powerhouse at the plate.

Schwarber only ended up playing five games in the field in 2024 which came exclusively in left field. That came after he led all left fielders with five errors in 2023.

Designated hitter is the role where he performs best, so it made sense to move him into a role where he could focus on his batting and plate discipline. This resulted in an extremely productive 2024 season, and strong metrics in most categories.

When looking at his Baseball Savant page, he has nine different metrics in which he was 90th percentile or higher in the 2024 season. These include batting run value (95th percentile), xwOBA (96th percentile), xSLG (94th percentile), average exit velocity (97th percentile), barrel % (96th percentile), hart hit % (98th percentile), bat speed (99th percentile), chase % (93rd percentile), and BB % (99th percentile).

His standard statistics were also strong, hitting .248/.366/.851 in 573 at bats, with 110 runs, 104 RBI, 106 walks to 197 strikeouts, 38 home runs, and a 137 OPS+. His batting average was the best he has had since joining the Phillies. He also had the most walks in the National League and his lowest strikeout count since 2021 despite having almost 200 more at bats than that season.

Was he perfect? No. But there was a distinct improvement in his performance since moving full-time DH. If that type of production follows him into 2025, then the Phillies have a decision to make. He has previously been mentioned as someone the Phillies should move on from. But, entering his age 32 season, he likely has two to three impressive seasons left in the tank.

He will count $20 million toward Philadelphia's payroll, which is significant for a player that doesn't play the field and can sometimes struggle with consistency. Ultimately, the Phillies are paying for his power production and ability to change the game with one swing.

Whether or not the Phillies retain him comes down to the price and his 2025 production. Based on his 2024 production, they should be comfortable giving him a two-year deal for a similar value to his previous contract, though he and his agent will be looking for a raise.

The market will be the market however, so if he receives a longer offer elsewhere, the Phillies should avoid trying to go over three years as that could hurt them in the long run with some strong prospects rising in the farm system.