One of the top free agents in Major League Baseball this offseason is now off the board.
The Phillies have reached a five-year, $150 million deal with Kyle Schwarber, according to multiple reports, keeping the star designated hitter and finalist for the National League Most Valuable Player Award in the City of Brotherly Love.
Schwarber hit 56 home runs this season, and he entered the offseason as one of the leading available talents in baseball. The contract is somewhat unusual in its size and length for a player as old as Schwarber—he turns 33 in March—and for one that doesn’t play in the field. The veteran slugger, however, has held a significant presence in the Phillies clubhouse since his 2022 arrival to the team, and he has shown a strong propensity for clutch hitting.
Additionally, Schwarber and his family have become deeply rooted in the Philadelphia area. The new pact follows a four-year, $79 million deal that Schwarber just completed. Schwarber received interest from several teams, including the low-spending Pirates.
As Schwarber completed his new agreement with the Phillies, he also was named on Tuesday as a member of the U.S. team for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. That squad will also include other superstars such as the Yankees’ Aaron Judge and Pirates’ Paul Skenes, and will compete in a loaded field that also includes defending champion Japan, to be led by the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani. Schwarber also competed for the U.S. team in the 2023 WBC.
Schwarber has also broken through in some ways into pop culture. He was featured recently on an episode of the hit ABC sitcom Abbott Elementary, with the show having the good fortune of filming at Citizens Bank Park on a night in August when Schwarber became the 21st player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game.
Díaz Deal
The two-time defending champion Dodgers, meanwhile, made their own veteran signing on Tuesday, inking closer Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69 million deal that retains his mark as MLB’s highest-paid reliever.
Formerly with the Mets, Díaz opted out of the final two years and $38 million of his prior contract, gaining an additional year and $31 million of guaranteed money for that choice. After a somewhat rocky beginning to his tenure in New York, Díaz again asserted himself this year as one of the top relievers in baseball.
After that opt-out, as well as declining a $22.025 million qualifying offer from the Mets, New York earlier this month signed Devin Williams to a three-year, $51 million pact, representing something of an insurance policy for its bullpen.
