The Philadelphia Phillies’ core is aging quickly, but they’re intent on getting as much out of this veteran group as possible. Kyle Schwarber, the biggest free agent piece they had, is officially back on board now. The first major free-agent domino has fallen, and he fell right back home where he’s spent the last several seasons.
Phillies outbid others, bring back Kyle Schwarber
It’s official: the Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to a contract with Kyle Schwarber. It’ll be five years and $150 million. This is not a huge surprise, given the Phillies’ need to keep him and his love of the team and city.
But as perhaps the best hitter on the market (age and position not factoring in here), there was always going to be demand. And how much should the Phillies spend on an aging hitter who cannot play the field? As it turns out, $30 million a year.
This ironically comes after the Pittsburgh Pirates, yes that Pirates team, offered him four years and $120 million. That was never likely to be enough for the MVP finalist, and it proved to be too small to convince Schwarber to sign.
The Pirates never go after big-name free agents. They have served, for a long time, as a sort of farm system for bigger teams. Their best players get traded to better teams as they continue to try and stock up a farm system that’s never good enough to build a winning baseball team. That’s why there are rumors about Paul Skenes being traded.
Unfortunately, as a losing team in a small market, that sort of offer was never the right amount. To outbid the other suitors, the Pirates needed to blow Schwarber away. There was always likely to be a bit of a hometown discount if the Phillies did bring Schwarber back, so the Pirates needed to go above and beyond. If five and $150 million got him back to the Phillies, the Pirates probably needed to offer five and $200 million or even more. That’s awfully steep for a franchise that doesn’t spend, and obviously, not going there prevented them from getting Schwarber.
For the Phillies, this is a steep expense for a limited player whose best years are probably behind him. However, it was a very necessary investment. They don’t have young talent ready to take over, so they must milk this core for everything it has.
Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Nick Castellanos’ average age is almost 33. That doesn’t exactly suggest that many more good years are on the way for these veterans, but with very little young talent, the Phillies are going to have to keep going down this path until it all blows up.
They have some young talent in the pitching staff, like Jesus Luzardo, Jhoan Duran, and Andrew Painter, but those guys aren’t Wheeler and Nola, nor are they any help to the offense. For now, the Phillies have no other recourse but to keep Castellanos, Harper, Schwarber, and Turner together. They could’ve pivoted to a younger talent like Kyle Tucker or even Cody Bellinger, who is only a little bit younger than Schwarber, but there’s no telling how those players would fit. Schwarber fits well, the fans love him, and he can play in what can be a very hostile environment. There was no good plan other than to re-sign the DH and hope the chips fall favorably in the next couple of seasons.
After that, regardless of whether they win a World Series or not, they will have to find a new direction. These veterans are under contract for a long time, but they won’t be impactful, so the team will have to pivot. Until then, there’s no reason to break it up just yet.
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