ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Kyle Schwarber is staying with the Philadelphia Phillies, agreeing Tuesday to a $150 million, five-year contract.
Schwarber set career bests this year with a National League-leading 56 homers and a major league-high 132 RBIs along with a .240 batting average and .928 OPS. He scored a career-high 111 runs as he led the club to its second straight NL East title.
Schwarber’s 23 homers against left-handed pitching set a major league record for a lefty batter, surpassing 22 by Stan Musial in 1949 and Matt Olson in 2021.
“The body’s gotten better over time,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said earlier Tuesday. “He’s in the best shape of his life right now, and I don’t think that that’s going to change. He’s so intelligent. He sees the game a little bit different than a lot of other guys, and he works at it, watches a lot of film.
“I think there’s a really good chance that he’s going to maintain this level. I mean, this was an unbelievable year for him. So I don’t think we can expect this every year, but I still think he’s going to be a high-level performer,” Thomson added.
Schwarber won this year’s All-Star Game for the NL with three homers in a tiebreaking swing-off, and he finished second in NL MVP voting behind Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani.
The 32-year-old Schwarber rejected a $22,025,000 qualifying offer from Philadelphia in November.
“There’s very few people in my career that I’ve had when you look at him and say that is a genuine leader of your team that brings everything together,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “The way they work, the way they play, the way they handle themselves day in and day out, the way they treat their teammates, the way they bring you together. And he’s one of those guys.”
Dombrowski and the Phillies also are focused on retaining others among their players who became free agents, a group that includes catcher J.T. Realmuto, left-hander Ranger Suárez and outfielder Harrison Bader.
Schwarber grew up in southwest Ohio before playing his college ball at Indiana. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the No. 4 pick in the 2014 amateur draft.
He was at the beginning of his second year with Chicago in 2016 when he tore two ligaments in his left knee in an outfield collision during an April game in Arizona. It was believed to be a season-ending injury, but he returned for Game 1 of the World Series and helped the Cubs to the franchise’s first championship since 1908.
Schwarber is a .234 hitter with 23 homers and 37 RBIs in 73 career playoff games. He went deep twice in the NL Division Series this year against the Dodgers.
Schwarber hit 38 homers for Chicago in 2019, but he was non-tendered by the team after he batted just .188 in 59 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
He signed a $10 million, one-year contract with Washington in January 2021. After clubbing 25 homers in 72 games for the Nationals, he was traded to Boston at the deadline. He helped the Red Sox reach the AL Championship Series before they were eliminated by Houston.
Following his rebound season, Schwarber signed a $79 million, four-year deal with Philadelphia in March 2022. He flourished with the Phillies, belting 187 homers and driving in 434 runs in 627 games.
He hit his 300th homer on May 19 at Colorado and got his 1,000th hit with his 319th homer on July 25 at the New York Yankees.
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AP Baseball Writer Jay Cohen contributed to this report.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
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