With the Philadelphia Phillies holding sole possession of the NL East, they have a five-game lead over the New York Mets. The team is heading toward a potential October run, where DH Kyle Schwarber, who’s putting together one of his strongest seasons, could play a crucial role. In the process, he may also lock up a massive contract to stay in Philadelphia. However, any contending club would go all in to land him, and so, his agent will be fielding calls nonstop.

The 32-year-old led the National League to win in the All-Star Game home run derby “swing-off.” And his dominance will make him a highly coveted free agent. According to Jim Bowden from The Athletic, Schwarber ranks at No. 4 in the top free agents for the 2025-26 offseason. Bowden wrote:

“Schwarber is putting together what could be his best year at the ideal time. It looks like he will set career highs in home runs and RBIs. He has hit 40 homers or more in three of the past four years and currently ranks second in the National League in homers (42) and second in RBIs (98). He’s crushed both righties (.563 slug) and lefties (.600) this year. He’s the king of teammates — with leadership, baseball IQ, and intangibles that are off the charts.

“Every team except the Dodgers and Yankees should want him to be their DH. The Phillies will make every effort to re-sign him, but it will be fascinating to see what the open market brings for this special power bat and teammate.”

The Dodgers already have Shohei Ohtani, and the Yankees have Giancarlo Stanton, but other teams might want to get Schwarber on board. Ideally, the Phillies should have extended the player before the regular season. But no deal was reached, and now, several other teams will have an eye on Schwarber. And the player, too, hasn’t shied away from expressing how he would love to return to Cincinnati.

Regardless, at this point in the season, manager Rob Thomson is shaking things up. He is moving to a six-man rotation with Aaron Nola, who is returning soon, alongside Ranger Suárez, Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Zack Wheeler, and Taijuan Walker, at least for one cycle. This will significantly affect the rhythm of the team. Moreover, moving forward, it could also impact Schwarber’s contract extension.

He signed a 4-year, $79 million contract ahead of the 2022 season. It’s fair to say that he has justified the contract. Now, if he expects a massive multi-million-dollar deal, the Phillies shouldn’t flinch in meeting his expectations. But for now, he is helping the Phillies to stack wins.

Kyle Schwarber’s clutch dinger helped the Phillies snap a losing streak

The Phillies were restless to record some slump-busting runs on Friday night against the Washington Nationals. And there he was, Kyle Schwarber, who was excellent at the plate. He slammed a go-ahead three-run homer during the seventh inning. It contributed to the Phillies’ 6-2 win at Nationals Park, putting an end to their three-game losing skid.

After the seventh inning, he stepped up again and slugged. He crushed a 456-foot homer into the second deck in right field. It immediately drew loud cheers from the Phillies fans, who are known to be hard to impress. Later, Bryce Harper added to the damage by crushing a slider over the center field wall. After that, the Phillies’ bullpen took over to finish off the Nationals. All three, Tanner Banks, Orion Kerkering, and Matt Strahm, pitched a scoreless inning.

Entering Saturday, the Phillies were sitting at 70-52. Friday night also marked Zack Wheeler’s second start since returning to the rotation after shoulder soreness. Wheeler pitched five innings, allowed four hits and two runs, while striking out six and walking two.

Coming to Schwarber, with the pace he is approaching this season, he could notch his first 50 home runs this season. The Phillies do need a proven power hitter like Schwarber. But there is a high possibility that the veteran will test the free agency waters. What do you think?