Kyle Schwarber glad to have five more years to leave his mark on Phillies, fans originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
ORLANDO – The $150 million no doubt played a big part in keeping Kyle Schwarber with the Philadelphia Phillies. But the community, those who run the organization, his teammates and the Phillies faithful played as much a part in him inking a five-year deal to stay with the two-time defending National League East champions.
Schwarber met with the media via zoom on Tuesday from his home in Ohio, sitting in front of a beautiful stone wall with high-end liquor bottles placed on various shelves. He is back there after making a one-day sprint to Philadelphia to get his physical and tie up some other loose ends before signing his new monster contract. The quick trip was because his wife is expecting the couple’s third child, a daughter.
“Right after the season was over with, I was able to sit down with Dave (Dombrowski, president of baseball operations) and we had a really good conversation,” Schwarber said. “Then right before we went home, (owner) Mr. (John) Middleton was able to come over to our house and we were able to spend a really good amount of time just sitting down and talking about the Phillies and his family and about what’s the future looking like for us here.
“Those were conversations that I just never forgot. You go through a season, you start having different conversations with different teams. I took notes. And once I had everything all said and done I could really sit down and make the decision. John is committed to winning and Dave wants our organization to keep pushing for a World Championship. We want to continue to win the East. What else for a player can you ask for? We have such a great fan base that on a Wednesday get away day there can be 40-some thousand there. Those are things that I don’t take lightly.
“There are others in the league that I wish could experience that. Those are things that are driving factors on a daily basis. Nothing is given, everything is earned in this game. You earn a fan base’s respect, you earn people’s respect in the game. When you get that, it’s awesome. It’s a decision that I’m not going to regret by any means and it’s going to be a great investment for both sides.”
His signing was the obvious first order of business for the Phillies, who seem to be light on power after Schwarber. Following his 56-home run, 132 RBI National League MVP runner-up season, the designated hitter doesn’t want that season to be an outlier.
“Come to four years in Philadelphia and you really feel like you’ve hit your stride and got the identity of who I wanted to be in the big leagues,” Schwarber said. “And there’s still things to improve on. The nature of having experience and that you can come out on the other side of things. I think it’s given me a whole new perspective on baseball. And it’s way more enjoyable. You could be in that slump, and you know what you have to do to get out of it. Being able to look myself in the mirror and undress yourself from top to bottom and realizing that these are things I didn’t do well and just because 2025 was a great statistical season for me it doesn’t mean this offseason I’m going to go out and do the same thing. I have to go from top to bottom and undress everything and be able to find things to get better at and keep evolving, because the game keeps evolving.
“There’s always going to be more information out there on how to get a player out. It’s my job to make sure that I’m the most prepared person to attack it and not be surprised by anything. That’s how I try to continue to play the game and that’s what I’m going to do on a year-to-year basis. I don’t want to be a one-hit wonder. I want to play this game for a long time and I want to continue to be great and help the Phillies win a World Series and multiple World Series throughout my time here.”
While the decision to stay will make sense 150 million times with fans, it was so much more that played into Schwarber’s decision to wear the red, white and blue. It’s the love of the fans. It’s the fact that a piece of paper was sent around the park and signed by thousands begging for his return.
“Resonating with an organization and resonating with a fan base is a huge part of why you do it,” he said. “You want people, you want young kids, you want anyone to be at a game and look up and see them wearing your jersey or look up at their mom and dad and say ‘Hey, I want to be like Kyle.’ Whatever it is, those are things you don’t take lightly, and those moments are awesome. I know the whole constitution thing that went around Citizen’s Bank Park, I’ve got that. I have that in my possession. Those are things that you truly do respect as a fan base.
“You hope at the end of the day as a player that you leave your mark on an organization and a fan base and I’m glad that I’m gonna have five more years to do that here in Philadelphia.”
Dombrowski and company still have plenty of work to do moving forward for the 2026 season and beyond. J.T. Realmuto has now become the top subject for the team. There are holes to fill and young players to groom, which is another place where Schwarber is so valuable.
“We’ve all been in constant communication throughout the offseason, not just J.T. We all have great relationships with each other,” said Schwarber when asked if he’s communicated with Realmuto. “I think that’s a great thing we’ve had here in Philadelphia, that we’ve all really come together and that we’re all going to have some really good friendships through our days here. I sent him a text. I would not be lying if I said I sent one to J.T. that said trying to see where he’s at.
“At the end of the day I know the process he’s going through, and I want to be respectful of that. You want him to feel like he’s making the best decision for himself and his family. Selfishly we would all like to have J.T. back because we know what he brings to the table and how important he is to not only the clubhouse and the team but what he means to Philadelphia and how he carries himself and how he cares. How he makes sure he’s going to be available to catch as many games as he can. The catching position is such a difficult position and how he’s done it for years, he should be highly sought after and I’m hoping that at the end of the day he’s back in Philadelphia. But I know that there could be a lot of different circumstances that could come in.
“We have some really exciting talent that is going to be coming up, and you want to make them feel welcomed right away. We need them performing to their best abilities. We don’t need them worrying about how does Kyle Schwarber, how does Trea Turner, how does Bryce Harper, whoever, think about what I’m doing right now. No, we’re all here together. We’re all pulling on the same rope. We need everyone pulling just the same. This is a whole collective effort. We’ve made a clubhouse that is welcoming.”
Just like Philadelphia has made it a welcoming place for Schwarber. And that will now continue for five more years.
