The Philadelphia Phillies should get an answer over the next few days to weeks about what Kyle Schwarber is going to do.

Reports have indicated that the Phillies are interested in bringing Schwarber back, but reports have also stated that multiple teams around the league are interested in signing the slugger, who’s coming off a year where he hit 56 home runs.

Advertisement

For the Phillies, it’ll be interesting to see what type of market Schwarber has, but I suspect that it might be a bit more expensive than some are thinking.

Players who hit nearly 60 home runs in a season don’t grow on trees.

When examining what could happen, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reported that the Phillies entered the offseason hoping to bring Schwarber back, as well as J.T. Realmuto. While a deal with Schwarber, more importantly, isn’t close, he noted here that the bet is still that Schwarber re-signs.

“The Phillies entered the offseason hoping to re-sign Schwarber and Realmuto. Both remain unsigned.

Advertisement

“Sources said last week that the Phillies and Schwarber weren’t close to a deal, but negotiations can turn on a dime. ESPN said this week it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Schwarber choose a team before the end of the Winter Meetings. The Mets, Orioles, Reds and Pirates are some of the teams supposedly interested in Schwarber. The bet here remains that he re-signs with the Phillies… But the Phillies must have Plans B, C and D ready to go if Schwarber and Realmuto sign elsewhere. Even if they return, the Phils need to figure out what’s happening in the outfield. They would like to re-sign Harrison Bader,” he wrote.

As Zolecki touched on, while something may come to light over the next few days, and these things typically happen quickly, it’s also important to recognize that Schwarber could get a better offer from another team and be willing to take it immediately.

Perhaps he’d give the Phillies time to match any offer out of respect, but not all players do that, either.

Nonetheless, it seems like there’s a lot to figure out here, and unless the Phillies have a competitive offer out there, they likely won’t keep the slugger in town.