Phillies fans want Kyle Schwarber back so badly, they’re willing to spend all of John Middleton’s money
The slugger will be a free agent after this season, and fans are getting restless because a deal hasn’t been reached, despite mutual interest between Schwarber and the team.
Kyle Schwarber clubbed his team-leading 33rd home run of the season Tuesday night, and fans haven’t failed to take notice.
During the game, an image surfaced on X of a fan holding up a giant check addressed to Schwarber. The memo on the check read: “Philly for life,” with the dollar amount left blank for the Phillies slugger to write in an amount of his choice. The signature appears to read “John Dombrowski,” a portmanteau combining the names of Phillies owner John Middleton and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. (It’s unlikely that the check was signed off on by either executive.)
Schwarber is in his fourth season with the Phillies and trails just Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani in home runs during that time period. This season, he has 20 more homers than the next-closest Phillie, Bryce Harper, who has 13. The $79 million contract Schwarber signed in 2022 is set to expire following this season, although the Phillies home run leader likely will be due for a raise from his $20 million salary in 2025.
In an interview with The Inquirer last week, Phillies owner John Middleton seemed set on retaining Schwarber.
“We need no motivation whatsoever when it comes to Kyle Schwarber,” Middleton said. “We thought he was great when we signed him years ago. We thought he was great consistently through the years. … He’s a great person in the dugout. He’s a great person in the clubhouse. We don’t need any motivation whatsoever.”
Middleton, who also said the Phillies “love him” and “want to keep him,” wasn’t the only one to voice an opinion on Schwarber.
With the Red Sox in town, Schwarber’s former manager, Alex Cora, was asked for his take on Schwarber’s next contract. Schwarber played just the second half of the 2021 season in Boston after getting traded by the Washington Nationals, but he made a big impact as the Red Sox reached the AL Championship Series. Cora had nothing but praise for Schwarber and expressed a desire to bring him back into the fold.
But even Cora agreed that Schwarber belongs in Philly: “I hate to say it, but [Philly] is the perfect place for him.”
With the second half of the season in full swing, many Phillies fans also have clamored online for the team to keep its All-Star designated hitter.
Schwarber has noticed and appreciates the praise heaped on him by the fans, especially in big moments.
“You just take it in,” Schwarber said last week after hitting the go-ahead grand slam in the team’s win over the Angels. “Those are the things that you just really do enjoy about those moments. Really enjoying a fan base that cares about their team so much, they want to win, and they’re jumping up and down ready to explode, and they do. You just take that in, and take the moment in, and get ready for the next one.”
While there’s mutual interest in a deal, Schwarber said he didn’t plan on signing an extension during the season.
“Obviously there’s interest on my side, and I know that there’s going to be interest on their side,” Schwarber said earlier this month. “At the end of the year, we’re going to see where that takes us, and if that’s us striking up a deal, it’s striking up a deal.”
Assuming nothing gets done before the end of the season, Schwarber almost certainly will have a variety of suitors in free agency, potentially including his former team, the Red Sox, or even the rival New York Mets, who have shown a willingness to spend a significant amount on free agents under their new ownership.
Regardless of the teams that attempt to court Schwarber this winter, it will be up to the Phillies decision-makers, or as the check holder refers to them, John Dombrowski, to bring back Schwarber.