The deal is a testament to Schwarber’s elite talents as it sets new precedents in several ways. Primarily a designated hitter, Schwarber has made only 13 appearances in the outfield over the past two years. He will also be 33 years old in March.
These are both qualities that often undermine a player’s earning power. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, the largest guarantee was for any free agent age 33 or older Josh Donaldson‘s $92 million deal with the Twins, which was signed when he was still a capable third baseman. Pure designated hitters also often don’t get paid. According to the Contract Tracker, Shohei Ohtani is the only free agent DH to reach nine figures. He was clearly a special case as a two-way player and superstar. J.D. Martinez signed a five-year, $110 million deal with the Red Sox in 2018. He was still an outfielder at the time, but became more of a DH over the course of that pact.
Schwarber himself has proven to be a special case, as he continues to improve at his plate. He has always been a guy who lunges and runs a lot, with remarkable strength to go with it. From 2017 to 2021, he was generally good for about 30 home runs per year. He turned 38 in 2019, but that was the year of the pressed balls.
In the last four years, Schwarber never finished with fewer than 38 long balls. In three of those four he reached 46. In 2025 he set a new personal record with 56. He has also erased his previous platoon problems. In 2024, he slashed .300/.407/.490 for a 152 wRC+ against lefties, compared to a .218/.342/.482 line and 124 wRC+ otherwise. In 2025, these lines were .252/.366/.598 and .232/.364/.541 for wRC+ numbers 162 and 146, respectively.
Beyond the statistics, Schwarber has also received praise for his leadership and presence in the clubhouse during his time with the Phillies. They clearly wanted to bring him back, but there were a lot of other teams interested as well. The Mets, Pirates, Reds, Red Sox, Orioles and Giants have all been linked to him in recent weeks. The Bucs have even reportedly made an offer of four years and $120 million, a very bold move for a club that has never signed a free agent for more than $39 million.
But amid all the interest from other clubs, it always seemed like Schwarber would return to Philadelphia. He was clearly loved around town and in the clubhouse. The Phils have some other needs, but they have been aggressive spenders in recent years and it seemed like they would likely top the deal Schwarber got elsewhere. They did that and, as mentioned, set new benchmarks for free agent deals for a hitter of this age or a designated hitter of any age. MLBTR predicted he could secure a five-year deal worth $135 million. He got those five years, but did slightly better than predicted in terms of average annual value.
Per Grid sourceThe deal puts the Phils at a payroll of $270 million and a competitive balance tax figure of $289 million. At the end of 2025, those figures were $291 million and $314 million. If they plan to get to a similar spot in 2026, they still have about $20 million left to play with.
They still have a few things on the to-do list. In addition to Schwarber, they also want to bring back catcher JT Realmutowho also became a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. Reshaping the outfield and expanding the pitching staff are also on the agenda. $20 million wouldn’t be much to do all that, so they might be willing to increase payroll again, although they could also try to accomplish a few things on the trade market.
For the other teams, it’s possible this could open the floodgates this offseason. The position player portion of Free Agency has been slow so far. Early on, Trent Grisham And Gleyber Torres accepted offers. The sailors and Josh Naylor quickly reunited. There have been no multi-year deals for free agent hitters in the last three weeks.
Now that Schwarber is out of the board, the clubs that fell short will turn to other options. Some of those clubs won’t be players Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette but maybe Cody Bellinger, Pete Alonso, Eugenio Suarez, Alex Bregman and others will see their markets heat up in the coming days and weeks.
Photos courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
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