Phillies sign Schwarber
The Phillies have signed outfielder Kyle Schwarber to a four-year contract, President of Baseball Operations David Dombrowski announced today.
Schwarber, 29, slashed .266/.374/.554 with a .928 OPS over 471 combined plate appearances between the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox last season. He had 28 home runs in only 322 plate appearances against right-handers last year and his .623 slugging percentage against righties ranked fifth among all players with at least 300 plate appearances in 2021 behind only Bryce Harper (.711), Joey Votto (.645), Jesse Winker (.642) and Brandon Belt (.629).
Among all players with at least 450 plate appearances last year, Schwarber’s 148 OPS+ ranked ninth in Major League Baseball behind only Harper (179), Juan Soto (175), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (169), Fernando Tatis Jr. (166), Shohei Ohtani (158), Matt Olson (153), Tyler O’Neill (150) and Aaron Judge (149).
A first-time All-Star in 2021, Schwarber set career highs in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. With the Nationals, he was named National League Player of the Month in June after hitting 16 home runs and posting a 1.122 OPS in 27 games. During the month, he tied a major league record, previously held by Albert Belle, for home runs in a 10-game span with 12. He also set a major league record for most home runs as a leadoff hitter in a calendar month with 15 and most leadoff home runs in a calendar month with seven. Schwarber batted leadoff 27 times last season and slashed .297/.385/.832 with a 1.216 OPS in 117 plate appearances. Dating back to 1900, Schwarber’s .823 slugging percentage out of the leadoff spot is tops in the majors for a single season among players with at least 100 plate appearances.
A 2016 World Series champion with the Chicago Cubs, Schwarber is a veteran of 35 postseason games and has slashed .255/.359/.518 with a .878 OPS in 128 plate appearances in the postseason.
Originally selected by the Cubs in the first round (4th overall) of the 2014 draft, Schwarber has played seven seasons in the majors with the Cubs (2015-20), Nationals (2021) and Red Sox (2021). In his career, Schwarber has made starts defensively in left field (525 games), designated hitter (44 games), catcher (15 games), first base (nine games) and right field (two games).
Schwarber will wear number 12.
To make room for Schwarber on the 40-man roster, left-hander Kent Emanuel was placed on the 60-day IL with a left elbow impingement.