PHILADELPHIA – Kyle Schwarber talked to a lot of people the past couple months.
The conversations started in Philadelphia. He had a good chat with Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski shortly after the Phils’ season ended in disappointment in October at Dodger Stadium.
Right before Schwarber’s family returned to Ohio for the winter, Phillies owner John Middleton visited Schwarber’s home in South Jersey. They had a long talk there about their families, the Phillies and their futures. Schwarber was not officially a free agent, but he was going to be soon.
Dombrowski and Middleton wanted Schwarber to leave town knowing how much they wanted him back.
“Those were just conversations that I never forgot,” Schwarber said on Wednesday afternoon.
Schwarber on Monday night agreed to a five-year, $150 million contract with the Phillies. It became official on Tuesday night.
“There were a lot of things that stuck with us through our last four years in Philadelphia and knowing that there were so many great things in the future to come in Philadelphia,” Schwarber said.
Schwarber had conversations with other teams before he accepted the Phillies’ offer. Baltimore made a five-year, $150 million offer, according to The Athletic. The Reds made a five-year offer in the $125 million range. The Pirates made a four-year, $125 million offer.
Other teams expressed interest, too.
“You go through the offseason, you start having different conversations with different teams, and just because those conversations were more fresh, it doesn't mean that anything was forgotten,” Schwarber said. “I know that was an important time and important conversations that Dave and Mr. Middleton had. Trust me, I took notes.
“John is committed to winning. Dave wants our organization to continue to keep pushing for a world championship. We want to continue to win the [NL] East. What else as a player can you ask for? We have such a great fan base. On a Wednesday getaway day, there could be 40,000 fans there. Those are things that I don't take lightly. I wish that other people, other players in the league, I wish that they could experience that.”
Schwarber valued the Phillies’ commitment to winning. He valued his relationships in the clubhouse, including a special one with hitting coach Kevin Long, who signed a three-year contract following the season. Long helped resurrect Schwarber’s career in Washington in 2021, after the Cubs non-tendered him following the 2020 season.
Long’s continued presence on the Phillies’ coaching staff was important to Schwarber.
“It’s definitely something you have to think about, right?” he said.
There were indications that Schwarber wouldn’t drag his free agency into Christmas and beyond. It just didn’t seem to be his style.
Once he talked to interested teams, once he felt comfortable with the situation, he knew he wanted to make a decision. Dombrowski and Schwarber’s agent Casey Close met on Sunday night in Orlando. Schwarber asked to speak to Dombrowski on Monday. The Phillies had talked with Close about a couple different contracts: one was a shorter-termed deal, one was a six-year deal.
Close called Dombrowski on Monday night and told him if the Phillies offered a five-year, $150 million deal that night that Schwarber would accept it. They did, and he did.
Schwarber sent his teammates a few texts on Tuesday, including J.T. Realmuto.
Realmuto is a free agent. The Phillies want him back. They have an offer on the table.
“Try to coax him,” Schwarber said about his text to Realmuto.
It’s been a fun ride so far. When Schwarber joined the Phillies in March 2022, the Phillies hadn’t made the postseason since 2011. They’ve made the postseason each of his four seasons here.
When he joined the Phillies in 2022, he had 153 career homers and one son. Today, he sits at 340 career homers and soon will have three children, with his wife Paige expected to give birth to their first daughter in a few days.
There’s a chance he reaches 500 homers in a Phillies uniform.
After that he could end up in Cooperstown. Who knows?