Just like he did last time around, Kyle Schwarber is entering free agency coming off the best season of his career. Four years ago, after hitting .266/.374/.554 with 32 homers for the Nationals and Red Sox, it landed him a $79 million deal with the Phillies. This time, even though he’s 33 and at what really should be the end of his prime, he seems certain to do even better.
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2025 MLB Free Agency Guide: Top players, key dates, qualifying offers, how it works
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Everything you need to know about MLB free agency, including key dates, the top names on the market, qualifying offers, and draft pick compensation.
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D.J. Short
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Schwarber’s first two seasons in Philadelphia were sort of a return to his earlier career form in the batting average department. He did lead the NL with 46 homers in 2022, but he also topped the majors in strikeouts both seasons, combining for 415 while batting .207. He started a turnaround there in 2024, as he upped his average to .248 while hitting 38 homers. In 2025, he finally put everything together at age 32, coming through with a .240/.365/.564 line, an NL-high 56 homers and a major league-high 132 RBI. The .928 OPS tied his career best from 2021.
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Schwarber is almost entirely a full-time designated hitter at this point, but he’s embraced the role. All of his exit velocity numbers were career bests in 2025, and he hasn’t sacrificed any contract to make that happen; his 27.2% strikeout rate was the third lowest mark of his career. There’s just nothing in the numbers to say he’s about to decline.
â–¶ Market Outlook
There are still plenty of teams out there that would rather retain some flexibility to mix and match in the DH slot, but Schwarber’s productivity makes it worth sacrificing that luxury. Still, long-term deals for pure designated hitters are rare. Schwarber was still a left fielder in the first two years of his former deal. J.D. Martinez received the biggest contract ever for a free agent essentially signed to DH, though he still played outfield about half of the time in his first season in Boston. That five-year, $110 million contract came when he was 30. Schwarber’s new deal will begin with his age-33 season.
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Regardless, Schwarber would seem to be in line for the biggest contract ever given to a designated hitter. Some teams will probably try to toe the line at three years, but it’ll probably take four to get him and maybe even five if some team is particularly antsy. His production demands that he make at least $30 million per year, which is what the likes of Rafael Devers, Manny Machado, and Corey Seager have gotten on longer deals.
â–¶ Best Fits
Phillies: The Phillies aren’t going to be able to keep everyone with Ranger Suárez and J.T. Realmuto also hitting free agency, but losing Schwarber’s firepower would be an especially big blow to a lineup that’s come up short in October. That hasn’t so much been the case with Schwarber, who has hit .216/.363/.567 with 14 homers in 38 postseason games since joining the club.
Red Sox: One of Boston’s biggest regrets should be not making a stronger effort to keep Schwarber around after he did so well as a deadline acquisition in 2021, but they had the aforementioned Martinez and were worried about the defensive fit. They badly need a huge left-handed bat after trading Rafael Devers over the summer, and they know Schwarber loves Fenway; he’s hit .344/.478/.644 in 113 career plate appearances in Boston.
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Braves: The Braves don’t traditionally make big buys in free agency, but they do have quite an opening now with Marcell Ozuna’s deal expiring and it’d be extra sweet to lure a rival’s biggest bat.
Mets: Swapping out Pete Alonso for Schwarber would likely be an upgrade for the Mets lineup, but the fact that Alonso is a competent, if still below average, first baseman seems important for a team that has a couple of other guys who might be best off DHing.
Contract Prediction
It’s hard to see who else might step up for Schwarber. He doesn’t work for the Dodgers or Yankees and probably not the Giants or Cubs. Seattle might be the best fit of them all, but it’d be quite the radical change from Mariners ownership to come up with the kind of money it would take to sign him. The Tigers have a greater need for a right-handed bat and probably don’t want to make Kerry Carpenter a full-time outfielder. Maybe the Red Sox will get really aggressive, but the best bet now is that Schwarber stays put.
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Phillies – Four years, $128 million