March 20: The Phillies have announced the signing, placing Kent Emanuel on the 60-day IL as a corresponding move. Emanuel went on the IL in June of last year with left elbow while with the Astros and never returned. Claimed by the Phillies in November, it seems he’s not close to being recovered, as the Phils announced that he has a left elbow impingement.
March 16, 11:06am: It’s a four-year, $79MM contract, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
8:54am: Schwarber and the Phillies have agreed to a four-year deal with an annual value just shy of $20MM, tweets Jayson Stark of The Athletic.
8:31am: The Phillies have reached an agreement with Schwarber, pending a physical, tweets Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
8:21am: The Phillies are “making progress” on a deal with free-agent slugger Kyle Schwarber, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Schwarber had recently been linked to the Blue Jays, but Shi Davidi and Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reported a few minutes ago that the team had become “pessimistic” about its chances of signing Schwarber, believing he was likely to sign elsewhere.
Schwarber, 29, has been one of the most sought-after free agents on the market in the days since MLB’s lockout was lifted — thanks in no small part to the implementation of the universal designated hitter. The longtime Cubs left fielder was non-tendered by Chicago after the 2020 season but parlayed a one-year deal with the Nationals (and a subsequent trade to the Red Sox) into a surefire multi-year deal in his second foray into free agency.
While Schwarber got out to a lukewarm start with the Nats in 2021, he erupted with one of the most prodigious hot streaks in big league history in mid-June. From June 12-29, a span of just 18 games, Schwarber launched a staggering 16 home runs through just 77 plate appearances. That astonishing run was cut short by a hamstring strain that sidelined him for more than a month, but the Red Sox had no qualms about trading for Schwarber even while he was on the injured list.
The Boston front office was surely glad it did so, as Schwarber returned with that same thunder the moment he was activated from the injured list. In 168 plate appearances with the Red Sox down the stretch, he turned in a huge .291/.435/.522 slash with seven homers and 10 doubles as the Red Sox surged to an AL East division title. Schwarber clocked three more home runs during the postseason, including a now-iconic grand slam that keyed a Game 3 ALCS romp over the Astros, but his bat fell quiet thereafter, as he finished out the series in an 0-for-15 funk while the ’Stros came back to topple the Sox.
Slow start to the year notwithstanding, Schwarber hit .266/.374/.554 with a whopping 32 home runs in just 471 plate appearances during the regular season. Add in his postseason efforts, and Schwarber carries a .260/.365/.542 with 35 home runs in 520 plate appearances since the Cubs non-tendered him.
Signing with the Phillies will reunite Schwarber with former Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long, who left the Nats’ staff at season’s end and signed on for a reunion with manager Joe Girardi, under whom he’d previously coached with the Yankees. Long’s presence certainly couldn’t have hurt the Phillies’ efforts to sign Schwarber, and it’s of some note that he’ll now continue working with the same hitting coach who helped coax that career-altering run from him during the ’21 season.
Schwarber’s role with the Phillies depends, to an extent, on the remainder of the team’s moves. While he’ll probably spend some time in left field and at designated hitter regardless, the division of his workload between those two spots hinges on whether the Phils make another clear upgrade in the outfield. At the moment, the Phillies don’t have a clear, everyday option in left field. Bryce Harper is, of course, locked into right field, but the rest of the outfield remains in a state of flux. The Phils brought Odubel Herrera back on a one-year, $1.75MM deal, and he’s joined by Adam Haseley, Mickey Moniak and Luke Williams as outfield options on the roster. Suffice it to say, at least one more newly acquired bat seems likely to join Schwarber in the Opening Day lineup by the time all is said and done.
The scope of any further additions seems likely to be driven by the luxury tax. Phillies owner John Middleton has staunchly resisted exceeding the tax line in the past two seasons, and today’s addition of Schwarber will push the Phils to roughly $216-217MM in luxury obligations, depending on the specifics (hat tip to Roster Resource’s Jason Martinez). That’ll leave the Phils with somewhere in the vicinity of $13-14MM of breathing room to add at least one more outfielder and any other supplemental pieces the front office desires. Teams generally want to leave at least a few million dollars for in-season dealings, so it could be that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is dealing with a bit less than that projected $13-14MM.
Of course, additional trades or a simple change of heart with regard to Middleton’s luxury-tax aversion could change the calculus. Dombrowski made clear early in the offseason that shortstop Didi Gregorius would have to earn a starting job after a dismal showing in 2021, and he’s been listed as a speculative candidate to be moved in a change-of-scenery swap. The Phils could also try to dump the contract of outrighted utilityman Scott Kingery on another club as well, which would free up another $4MM in luxury space.
Barring any such trades or philosophical changes in ownership thinking, Dombrowski will be working with some notable financial limitations from here on out. That might mean a shift to the trade market or pursuing some smaller-scale free agents in hopes of securing a bargain. Time will tell just how the front office will proceed, but the addition of Schwarber to a lineup that ranked 15th in the Majors in home runs and 13th in runs scored will provide a notable jolt in production.
Schwarber is their big splash. I’m pretty dissapointed. Bryant was a better fit IMO. Even big Nicky C. Really bummed by the Phillies offseason. I have a hard time seeing them competing with the Braves and Mets. Maybe even Marlins.
Who says they can’t get Bryant or Castellanos too?
@TF4L Be realistic. They only need 1 other OF. This is their move.
Bryant can play 3rd…maybe not great, but at least better than Bohm. I think Harper will convince Bryant to come in. Let’s see..
Or, could he be their DH move and emergency OF’er?
But where does that leave Bohm? The roster is pretty set. They had room for 1 big signing. I believe this was it.
You mean, Scott Kingery?
There is a DH now. Schwarber was signed to DH! There is still room for an outfielder. And Bryant offers versatility at the corner infield spots and outfield.
you’re seriously thinking about Bohm right now? So you complain about the Phils bringing in established MLB talent, but you’d be fine with having a lite-hitting, terrible defending guy manning 3rd base? OK. I think you are just reaching for stuff to get mad about now.
@raltongo I’m just saying this is our roster. It’s not well constructed. Bohm is our 3B. He was close to rookie of the year in 2020. It would be foolish to just give up on him. Trade him? Sure for the right pieces. Schwarber can be a great power hitter, although I think recency bias makes people assume he’s better than he is. He will greatly improve this lineup and it’s nice to get a left handed bat. So there’s a bit to be excited about there. But there are still glaring holes with this roster. The defense at 1B, SS, 3B and the OF is the worst in the league. I understand going cheap on Herrea in order to splurge on a big bat. I just believe they chose the wrong big bat. I hope I’m wrong. I don’t understand how a Phillies fan who watched the 2021 season can think we got Schwarber…we’re going to win.
As always, we await developments.
Uhhhhh universal DH
@123redsox They have stated they are not surpassing the tax. That leaves them with 8-12MM left. There’s no room for Bryant or an impact OF. Schwarber a DH will be playing the field often in Philly because they’re a team of DHs.
right, but you’re kind of proving your own point here. The Phils have a lot of holes to fill, as you said and as is clear. Bryant would cost about 150-180 to only fill one position at a time, and his AAV might have been out of the Phils price range anyway–of course, it isn’t really, but if they aren’t going to go over the cap, then Bryant is too expensive. WIth Schwarber, they still have about 17 million cap space to work with. Let’s hope they give ol Steve Cohen a taste of his own ‘stupid money’ and finally go over the tax for KB. Didi’s 15 mil is off the books next year, Segura’s and Nolas 16-17 mil off the following year, so you could envision a situation in which the Phils go over this year but dip back under relatively quickly… Lets hope
@raltongo To be clear it’s no just that they choose Schwarber over Bryant. Bryant wouldn’t have saved this team either. It’s that they really didn’t address the defense one bit. I’m not sure we’re you’re getting 17MM from. I’m seeing closer to 8MM. This Schwarber deal finished up any hope for another big name. I think it would have been smarter to sign someone who could play defense. But homeruns sell tickets.
Bingo. As soon as Herrera was signed it killed any excitement. The only way I’d be excited about Schwarber is if he went back to catching and was the backup and dh
@Von;
Think the Phillies now have between 4 and 5 position player starters that should spend the majority of their time as DH’s.
Schwarber does give the Phillies another quality LH bat to go with Harper to balance out Realmuto, Hoskins and Segura. The objective is to get younger. Again, it’s up to the coaches to work Bohm, Maton, Stott and others (along with bringing Didi up to speed).
Dombrowski walked into a challenging situation as the kids that ran the rebuild totally whiffed. All he was given were some expensive FA’s that were signed and a few prospects that badly need coaching up. If you look at Dombrowski’s tenue in both Miami and Detroit, one thing he did was get some veterans squared away, then trade them for youngsters to go with his building a depleted farm system. I can see him doing he same here. Example – say Maton works out in the middle infield, and he and Didi share 2B / SS. This would allow Dombrowski to trade Segura during the season to bring in a decent prospect or two.
But with AA shifting the Braves into overdrive and Cohen spending like a drunken sailor, the only hope the Phillies have is to get into an extended playoff spot….and there will be competition for that.
Signing Odubel for pnlt $1.75M ALLOWED us the flexibility to sign Schwarber.
Lefties
Harper
Odubel
Schwarber
Didi/Stott
Righties
Rhys
JT
Segura
Bohm
Balanced but below average defensively
Now will be brought back. Segura will be bought out. Losing Didi and Segura gains them roughly $31 million in balance tax space.
If Bryant has an everyday spot in the OF then it might make sense. But he’s way to expensive to make a part time player. Nowhere near enough at bats can be squeezed out for a player without an everyday position.
@VonPurpleHayes i agree how can the FO have had watched the last few seasons of McCutchens corpse in LF and thought let’s pay Schwarber $20M. Phillies need to stop getting 1B/DH players (Bohm,JT,Hoskins,Schwarber) but hey I guess Schwarber is at least LH. Does he bat leadoff? I feel like they need Bryant they need defense and OFers, Christ they even bring back Odubel
They got Castellanos. What a middle of the line-up: WOW!
You don’t want Castellanos in your outfield if Schwarber is also there.
Schwarber will primarily serve as the DH!
@ 123redsox;
Realmuto needs rest. Harper some. Hoskins is a terrible 1B. They might get Bohm’s hitting squared away, but his D @ 3B is awful and @ 1B is not much better.
They will very probably rotate players through the DH spot.
Bohm is bad at 3B they should have moved Cutch during his little hot streak last year to see Moniak or Bohm play LF. Anyone who watched that team last year could tell they weren’t a playoff team (turns out they were only .500) and no need for overpaid vets with poor defense. When will they learn?
The Rockies
Knebel, Camargo, familia, Herrera, hand and now possibly Schwarber. Meh
Still have to address the putrid left side of that infield
Yeah. I can’t get excited by this offseason. They needed to go big or sell. They did neither. I expect some regression in the standings. Tough to accept. It’s been over a decade of this.
They were close to a wild card spot last year. If they signed Bryant they could absolutely compete for a wild card spot, especially since there is an extra one this year
I’m right with you Von
The Mets, Braves and Marlins are vastly improved this year. The Nats lost a lot of talent, but their lineup is still deadly. So the division will be of a struggle this year. Schwarber essentially replaces Cutch, so we get more power and the same awful defense. I just don’t see the Phillies as a very good team.
You’re correct. Stallings alone will make the Marlins already high quality pitching even better.
Our pen is slightly better.
I’m hoping Bohm can return to form.
Losing Freeman hurts the Braves
Looks like a $79 Million dollar mistake to me also. This is a guy that hit .230 for the Cubs and got DFAed due to hitting .188 in 2020. He was off to an awful start last year before the hot streak also. I was hoping they wouldn’t sign him.
I think the Phillies blew their shot last year. if they sign one real starting pitcher and not BOTH of Chase Anderson and Matt Morore, they keep Tony Watson over Brandon Kitzler in spring training, and they sign Mark Melancon for the $2 Million dollars the Padres did to get those 39 saves instead of Neris in the 9th, and the Phillies are easily in the playoffs last year. It was there to take.
For 2022 they signed some bullpen pieces, but they lost some bullpen pieces. It might be slightly better this year. The bench is going to be much worse I would guess. Torreyes and Miller came up huge in a lot of situations. Even Jankowski. I think Schwarber puts up similar numbers to Cutch, but the offense overall isn’t better unless Didi or Bohn show 2020 numbers. And the Mets are about to steamroll everyone. Braves should easily be in 2nd.
I think the 2020/2021 Phillies proved to us all what they needed was a bullpen and they’ll make the playoffs easily.
So the good news is they will be better than the Nats.
Chill Von. After every move, you throw your hands up like it’s the end of the world (or at least the end of the offseason). Harper is doing serious work to get KB to come to town. See how that shakes out before you jump off a bridge.
@raltongo Because the moves are predictable and stupid. I called Schwarber to the Phillies in a previous thread. The Bryant rumors are over. Schwarber was their man. If they go out and get Bryant as well, I’ll eat my words and apologize, but I don’t see it.
A RH power bat behind Harper is a better fit. Schwarber is Pat Burrell all over again. I just hope the money isn’t stupid.
lazy take on the Burrell comparison. Sub-par LF defense is the only thing remotely similar.
I would have preferred Bryant also. Apparently, he doesn’t want to play in Philly. Schwarber does balance out the line-up, with his lefty power. At this point, the biggest concern, is the defense on the left side of the field, both infield and outfield. I was hoping to trade for K.K., but that is now not in the cards. Maybe another #5 type starter?
Really history? Why would you say he doesn’t want to play in Philly? It’s always about the Benjamins..Always.
There’s reportedly ‘credible buzz’ that Alec Bohm could be traded
per philliesnation.com
Great signing by the Phillies. I wanted to see Schwarber with the Phillies. They still have money to sign Kris Bryant if they choose to.
@Francys01 not really. About 8-12M left for the year. That prices them out of Bryant. I was shocked Schwarber got 20 for 4.
VonPurpleHayes- Before signing Schwarber the Phillies payroll was 173 million so now is around 193-194 million. So, maybe there still a chance to address third base if they decide to do it.
So, I read on Twitter that the Phillies are 10 million away from reaching 230 million luxury taxes limit. So, it’s unlikely that they will sign another big bat.
Yeah. There’s arbitration to keep in mind too. Paying Schwarber this amount pretty much ends their big moves. I don’t think the Phillies can win with this roster.
They really DON’T have the money to sign Bryant
I figured you’d be smiling right now, but you Philly fans are a tough group. He will absolutely rake in that Band Box. LOL
with K-Long as hitting coach Schwarber has always been the target. Bryant’s positional flexibility is cool, but i’d rather have Schwarb’s big lefty bat in this lineup
Both Schwarber and Bryant have red flags. While Bryant might be a better overall fit at the moment (due to his defensive versatility), Schwarber’s bat is probably better at this point, and the difference between what Byrant will sign for—about $150M over more years—than the 4yr/$80Mish deal Schwarber signed will probably help the Phillies more overall.
VPH you’re knowledgeable about the Phillies…
How does the left side defense go? Shwarbs has the arm but not the range so will the balls past Bohm just lean to stressful gunned down runners at home or just lots of runs?
@tstats It’s going to be ugly. They Have Adam Hasely as an option in LF, but he’s not a great fielder either. This is why I’m being vocal about the frustrations. It’s going to be an absolute mess in the field. I think people are underestimating how much defense cost them last year. The lineup? I love it. It’ll give pitchers fits, but they’ll be coughing up unearned runs all over the place.
I like a Kevin Pillar signing. He can come in late innings with a lead to play center. Either Herrera or Vierling slides over to left. Nick Maton for infield late inning defense and spot starts.
@baseballhistory Yes. I’d love that as well. Good call.
What about Conforto to the Phillies?
What about Conforto to the Phillies?Or Rosario?
I don’t think they have the money for either at this point. Maybe Rosario.
It wouldn’t be a sexy move at all and would probably draw a lot of complaints and eye rolls but I think a very minor trade with the Pirates to get Kevin Newman as a defensive utility infield bench piece could be a shrewd move. I don’t think I’d trust his arm over at third but he would be a big plus defensively as a mid game sub over Didi or Segura up the middle. Wouldn’t cost much in prospect capital or take up much payroll space and his D could help win a few of those dozen or so games a year where the Phillies are up 2-3 runs in the 5th and end up losing by 2 or 3.
Pillar rates out more as a neutral defender these days. They might be better off looking at trades.
Adding Newman would be a huge get for this team. O’Neil Cruz should be pushing him out the door anyways.
In my mind on the Pirates side of the proposed deal it frees up SS to give Cole Tucker a real shot at sticking in the lineup instead of putting a quality defensive SS with no bat in the lineup as a corner outfielder where the bat has to play. Also begins the transition of Cruz to RF where he most likely ends up in a few years regardless and lets him focus more on his offense which is where his value comes from anyway.
Jimmy- Tucker is to the Pirates as Kingery was to the Phillies.
They have needed for several years to give him a shot at shortstop for at least three months.I think that Newman fielded so well last year that they could not do it then.
Would Newman’s defense be so much better that he would push out Maton or Luke Williams from the mix?
Yes. He was the 9th best defensive SS in baseball last year according to the fielding Bible.
I think they still have a good chance with Bryant.
no way
So Phillies have a bunch of good hitting now by adding Castellanos and Schwarber. 2 ace pitchers in Wheeler and Nola and then meh for the rest of the starting pitching and bullpen. Pitching wins championships.
So does Bryant end up in Colorado?
I think Conforto is more likely for Colorado
I wish the White Sox were being this aggressive in going after high-end FA’s (that aren’t relievers). That said, why is it that no matter how much the Phillies spend, they always seem to end up around .500?
Because money can’t buy chemistry.
Because they don’t make the right moves. Schwarber doesn’t move the needle. The team had some horrific defense in 2021, and it’s actually significantly worse in 2022. Schwarber had 1 great year and the Phillies are suckered by it.
@VPH, I haven’t followed all the Phillies moves, but it strikes me that their biggest path to success is strengthening defense and the bullpen. They lost Cutch and Miller, added Schwarber. That could be a wash or even a net negative, although Schwarber at this stage should offer higher probability of a solid season with upside. The Harper and Realmuto signings were good centerpiece signings, and Wheeler’s been great, but it’s the component pieces around those guys who will make or break the team. Similar, it’s the long-standing issue I have with the Angels approach. Big names and talented players, but the construction around those players falls short.
@LordD99 I think they did a lot to address their pen. I personally felt they overpaid for a lot of those moves, but technically they could work. Pen will still be a gamble, but in theory it could be a lot better. The defense on the other hand has gotten worse. And they have no bench. The offseason is not over, and I expect them to go after some defensive bench pieces. I think they chose to target Schwarber over Bryant and I feel that was perhaps a mistake as Bryant offers a bit more versatility and has tremendous numbers in Philly. I think they are done with big moves.
Mc Cutchen was a tremendous detriment to the Phillies last year. His defense was brutal, and his statistics were deceiving. He left so many men on base, and was terrible in getting a runner in from 3rd with less than 2 outs.
I’m old-school when it comes to baseball…pitching and defense wins, not big-time strikeouts and home runs. However, as bad as the Phillies were defensively last year, the reason they missed out on the playoffs was because they couldn’t hit when it mattered. Other than Harper, no one performed down the stretch. Schwarber isn’t the first player I’d want on the Phillies, but he’s an upgrade and had they had him last year, they likely make the playoffs.
When Hoskins went down, the Phillies offense was sunk. Reamuto was playing hurt. They needed Mc Cutchen to step up big to protect Harper, but he was terrible. He must have lead the league in leaving men on base.
I don’t know what games you were watching, but McCutchen was much better with guys in scoring position. .271 batting average, .401 on base percentage. He hit lead off for a month and a half with Roman Quinn / Adam Hasely (hitting like .100 combined) and the pitcher spot in front of him. Still had 80 RBI. 16 of those in September when most of the team looked dead.
I think Schwarber turned the corner last year.He is a late bloomer, that has finally hit his stride ( swing adjustment from Long). The defense is what it is. I hope D.D. has another move to improve the defense, but like you, it seems doubtful.
Because the guy at first base stinks
Would love to see Hoskins just DH
Hoskins, Bohm and Schwarber are essentially all DHs. So no matter what, they’re stuck with some bad D. Solid lineup though.
Yes
LETS GOOOO!!
And short stop and third and center field too
Schwarber could have scary homer totals in that ballpark.
His defense is scary!!!
With the DH coming to the NL, he probably makes more starts there than LF.
@mlb1225 Schwarber is a DH on most teams, but on the Phillies he’s not even the worst defender. Sadly he’ll be playing the field quite a bit.
Still need someone who can catch the ball in LF. He should dh only but Phillies are too bad of an organization to recognize that. Need to sign Pham for lf
Awful signing of all the big names out there. I predict swing and miss rate skyrocketing and outfield defense abysmal.
“predict swing and miss rate skyrocketing”
that is quite a bold claim based off of absolutely zero evidence.
Friend you are clueless
Defense is not a concern in Philly, apparently.
you’re right…it wasn’t a concern during the last great era of Phillies baseball, either–just ask Burrell and Ibanez.
Burell had a few solid defensive replacement options on the bench. Those teams would not have won without them. Even in the playoffs. The 2022 Phillies don’t have that luxury yet. I think they should spend the little remaining budget on defensive replacements for Hoskins, Bohm and Schwarber. If they do that, they may have something.
Phillies fans are crazy, Schwarber was one of the most game changing players last year and if not for a hammy injury he would’ve done even more damage. Yes, you need good OF’s, but having him as your DH, emergency 1B/OF is a helluva get for a team that only had Cutch providing any consistent power outside of Bryce. Wait until all your moves are finished before you complain about landing one of the top bats available.
It’s not that I don’t like Schwarber. Different players fit better with different teams. The Phillies 2021 problem was clearly defense. The Phillies 2022 defense is worse. This was a typical Phillies move, and Schwarber will hit 30+ homeruns. So it’s still improves the team. The team just didn’t do anything to improve their defense.
don’t lump me into the same category as Von. I’m happy with this. Harper 3rd, Schwarber 5th… good to have two strong lefties in the middle there, and I still don’t think this closes the book on a Bryant signing. I bet Schwarber was just to further convince KB that this is the place to be (as if Harper wasn’t proving that by himself 🙂
Mets are done for.
Phillies need at least one of those draft picks to pan out. Bohm had a promising rookie season and inexplicably fell off the earth his second year. When you miss on the #1 pick (Moniak) and the #8 pick in Hasely it sets you back at least 5 years in terms of development. You are then forced to “buy” chemistry…which we all know never works. Building thru the draft is paramount. Phillies player development and scouting has always been dubious at best. Living in Philly my whole life but being a Braves fan ((born in Atl) has allowed me to appreciate the Braves organizational genius in developing talent.
I agree with you completely. They need draft choices to pan out. Interesting comment about buying chemistry seems like the Mets are doing that in a big way. Mets did something similar in the early 90’s signing Bonillo who is still on their payroll
I agree I wanted Bryant as my first choice but this was a good pickup. He worked well with Long last year. Question is where does Bryant sign? Boras may have misplaced this one big time
Has he been attached to the Red Sox in any rumors?
The stove is HOT this morning!
The MLBPA would never agree to it, but creating a signing and transaction period, maybe two of them, in the offseason might create a lot of interest as opposed to the slow drip of news during most offseasons.
Or just have a lockout every year so teams go crazy before and after? Maybe not.
I’ll go with the “maybe not” if that’s the price to play!
Schwarber makes sense as the Phillies DH. He’ll have fun in that ballpark. He should never see the field again. He’s brutal. Maybe they still go after Bryant. They are way too high on Bohm. Signing Bryant and dumping Bohm would make sense.
So, what signing do you like more for business and esthetics reasons (and show your work)
Schwarber or Rizzo?
Neither one is going to put their respective teams over the top. We need to let the full off-season unfold and judge these moves as what they are – a piece of their overall strategy to improve.
FWIW They have about 8MM left to stay under the tax. I think it would be wise to get some bench defense.
As I wrote the other day…….
They need to keep some cash out to bring in a rent-a-player or two during the season if they’re in contention.
Note sign Bryant to man third and this would be a very interesting team to watch.
Philly will love Schwarber. John Kruk v 2.0.
How is he anything like Kruk? I assume because they’re both thicc? They’re completely different hitters. Schwarber is probably less of a liability in the field. But they are both husky.
Kruk was more line drive power with amazing plate discipline. Schwarber is much more a power bat, with the in vogue style of power overriding discipline.
Both are patient. Schwarber is an on base machine.
Kruk’s OBP is 50 points higher… like I said, completely different hitters.
It’s more about personality. Yeesh.
How are there personalities similar? I’m not trying to pile on her but I’ve never heard of Schwarber being a wild man. They are both stout.
Basically what Rizzo turned down from the Cubs only to sign with NY for $30M.
Rizzo should fire his agent ASAP.
Hahahah
Best free agent signing of the season. Major kudos to dom. Will fit right into a potent lineup. With a dominant starting top three rotation, upgraded bullpen, the Phillies are right there with the Braves and pesky Marlins for number uno in the east. In my opinion.
Overpaid for him. Castellanos was the guy who should have been signed
I liked Castallanos better also. Maybe the deceiding factor is that Schwarber has the lefty bat, and doesn’t cost a 2nd round pick.
They need all the high draft picks they can get.
I think the pick was the major determinant – they weren’t going to sign a QO guy.
For the life of me I can not understand pursuing him instead of Suzuki who is younger and the Cubs just signed for longer and less money. Can anyone help me feel better about this?
Suzuki was the piece that made the most sense. It frustrates me that the Phillies were never even linked to him, but maybe they made an effort and it didn’t work out.
Very possible Suzuki didn’t want to play in Philly.
Of course that’s always possible, but that’s assuming the Phillies even looked at him. We just don’t know.
Ok with this move but damn I wanted Matt Chapman. I grew up watching Mike Schmidt and Scott Rolen, will be hard to stomach another year of Bohm down there. Hopefully he worked in the off-season to improve his game and gets back to the approach at the plate that made him ROY runner up just a couple of seasons ago. Defensively this team will be bad again, lets hope they hit at an elite level. Hard for us to expect Harp and Jean to repeat what they did last year though.
I think Bohm will hit. He needs to improve enough defensively to be just below average. If he can do it, he can stick at 3rd. A big if!!
Massive overpay, typical of the Phillies especially this offseason. Schwarber has had exactly ONE year that was better than merely “good”. Luckily for him it was last year.
No defense, hot and cold offense, $20M a year??? Ridiculous. Phillies deserve to lose making these moves.
Mets fan..
Mehmet
Maybe they can sign joc pederson to and they can have a KO to HR rate of 3-1
Acceptable.
Who’s our lead off hitter? Projected lineup right now has to be:
Segura 2B
Realmuto C
Harper RF
Hoskins 1B
Schwarber DH
Bohm 3B
Didi SS
Vierling LF
Odubel CF
Not a bad lineup, but obviously defense is a big concern, they aren’t going to help the pitching staff at all.
Still sad Galvis signed in Japan. He would have been a nice defense guy on the bench.
Maton nay end up being the utility infielder. I think bringing in Kevin Pillar would greatly improve the outfield defense. Not as an everyday player, but a 3x every two weeks starter, and late inning replacement.
FWIW-
“I can tell you this, Schwarber is looking good. His ABs, man, he was looking great. Great strike zone recognition, great swing.”
– Brewer reliever Brent Suter after work-outs with Schwarber during the lock-out
No one is worried about Schwarber’s offense.
Baserunning?
He’ll have to play the field because of the other terrible defenders on the Phillies.
Fair enough but, as a Brewer fan, I’m looking at that line-up with much envy.
Correct. Who plays 1b, when Hoskins dh’s?
Bohm.
Bohm or Vierling. I have this feeling Vierling is going to be the plug-in piece for 2022 – all three OF positions, 1B, and DH.
I’d like to see a solid bench piece added to the mix (the suggestions of Pillar would work). Figure they have 4 bench slots plus the DH. C takes one spot (Stubbs, probably). IF backup is second (Maton/Williams). Vierling is third. That leaves two spots. Some mix of Moniak/Haseley is possible for one. The second? Possibly Didi when they go for Stott, but I would like to see someone steady.
Realmuto/Vierling
Schwarber’s dinger heroics as a Nat greatly endeared him to me. The Phillies got a guy who can definitely help them out. He’ll probably DH but his D is not that bad if the ball is hit directly to him. Almost $20 million per year for four years is too much, but good for him.
This is not good for the Mets. We need some lefty RP
Surprised he got only 20 mil over 4 years thought 8 to 9 mil per year guess he wasn’t highly thought of, or teams weren’t very interested
It’s $20M PER year, so $80M total (aka, a massive overpay).
He is getting $20 million A YEAR for 4 years, not $20 million total.
Need to sign Addison Russell
This should have been on the Odubel Herrera post, eh?
Feeling good now. I think this puts us in a good spot.
@DarkSide830 You really think this roster can compete? I just don’t see it. I think we’ll see a lot of homers, but man it’s going to be ugly in the field.
I would expect Stott ( assuming he doesn’t make the opening day roster) to be ready to come up and replace either Di Di or Bohm, if either of their defense is completely untenable.
besides the Mets and Dodgers I don’t see any significantly better teams in the NL. I think we’re somewhere in the same stratosphere as ATL, SF, MIL, and STL. The first three of that group I feel are due for regression – beat just one of the four and you’re a WC.
Yea we might finish 3rd in the division now.
The Mets are famous for underachieving. On paper the Phillies look like a third place team, but they are improved. Knebel was a very good move. Schwarber was a good signing. Maybe there will be more?
Nooo…
Where the fuuuu were the Mets at with this…. so dumb
Well, the Mets already have their DH in any combination of Alonso, Smith, Davis and Cano. I’d rather see them spend on more pitching at this point. Honestly, we are going to need 8 (overall) healthy starters, at least one more lefthanded reliever and maybe another cheap closer type like Rosenthal. I would really have like Danny Duffy.
Accidental tanking at its finest. Nearly 100M/year invested in 4 guys all of whom are in their 30s or approaching it. Another incredibly flawed defensive player coming off a career year. A GM that has admitted he will only be around for a couple more years. They’re gonna throw whatever they can at the wall now and see what sticks. The unfortunate part is that they’ll be good enough to avoid getting high draft picks but not good enough to really compete for the playoffs. I think the Phillies are a stealth pick to be the big time seller this summer. Don’t be surprised if they’re floundering in the standings that guys like Nola and Wheeler hit the trade market.
@jett Agree somewhat. They needed to spend big or sell. Instead they’re treading water. This is a move that will trick some fans into thinking they can compete. They’ll be around .500 again. Sell some tickets. If Middleton is unwilling to go over the tax (which to be honest, is fair enough) then he shouldn’t be bothering with these signings. You’re wasting these guys in their prime. The Phillies haven’t seen playoff baseball since 2011. I just want to be clear that my frustrations are not because the Phillies aren’t spending like Cohen. My frustrations are because the Phillies have no direction. They don’t commit to going over the tax, but at the same time they refuse to sell. They’re stuck in the middle again. For the 11th year in a row. It’s honestly the worst place to be because the farm doesn’t improve.
When the Phillies had high draft picks, with the exception of Nola, they drafted poorly. They are trying to win now. I really like Knebel, the rest of the bullpen could be pretty good, but many question marks. The hitting should be strong. Once again, the defense is weak. The starting pitching looks good, but lacks depth. They can’t afford injuries in the rotation. Let’s see how the remainder of the roster is filled. I think the Phillies will be a strong home team with the team they currently have. Playing, and winning on the road, requires your bullpen keeping games close and holding late leads. We will see how that goes.
I think it’s been like this for a couple of years. They have talent, but they are thin. They can’t afford to have too many things go wrong.
They need to spend big. There are a lot of ways to build a team. But one of the ways is to overspend when you need to. There are always some price points you won’t exceed, but Bryant to 3B, and Bohm to DH, helps a lot of these problems.
They won’t catch the Braves, even with Bryant, but Bryant could make the difference between being a .540 team (87 w) and being a .570 team (92 W). As the number of suitors dwindles, something along the lines of $100M/4, or $120M/5 might be possible.
The two biggest mistakes by GM/Owners is playing when they should be tanking, followed closely by being thrifty when they should be throwing money at their problems. It makes no sense to me to spend maybe $220M to compete, when for $240M, you could be a pretty good team.
Kyle got paid! Congrats!
Phillies have a bunch of really bad to average fielders. One of the worst fielding teams in the majors last year. You still have to catch the ball. Do they intend on improving that?
Boy I’m glad I dont live in Negadelphia. This is a good signing Castellanos will cost more and plays about the same D. They absolutely had to have another left handed bat against all those RH starting pitchers in the NL East. They will sign someone else to play left field like Solar or Pillar with what they have left under the cap.
He’s going to have an 11 HR series against the Mets in the next few years.
Correction to this article. The Redsox did not win the AL East last year. They had the top seed in the wild card. The Rays won the east.
I expect the Phillies will make a couple of trades to open up more payroll room
and to shore up the rotation and bullpen.
Chris Bryant or Trevor Story could still be feasible for the Phils.
Jean Segura could be a trade piece.
Didi could be a trade piece if he can bounce back could be moved at some point during the season.
Ownership previously stated they would be open to going over the salary tax thresholds if they were close to a playoffs run and/or World Series contender.
@SportsFan0000 DD has recently stated he’s been okayed to approach the tax, but not go over it. That may change of course. If they can free up money with trades to sign Trevor Story or something, then I’m elated, but that seems pretty far fetched to me. They really do need a SS and CF more than anything else. Backend rotation depth would be fantastic, but if they aren’t willing to go over the tax, I don’t see how they can fix things. Settling for a 2nd WC and losing in the 1st round seems unacceptable for a team with this payroll.
Honestly, I’d love to see them get into the Greinke market. He’s not the absolute stud that he was, but he’d make for a nice bottom rotation piece. Below Wheeler, Nola, and Suarez, if two of Greinke, Eflin, and Gibson are healthy and on-track at any given time, that would be pretty solid. (Plus a backup option for Suarez and his visa issues.)
Is Mike Tauchman still available? He would be an ideal candidate for 4th OF/defensive replacement.
Can’t get excited about this since they did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to improve their league-worst defense. They may have actually made it even worse. Should have traded for Matt Chapman when he was still available.
I can’t argue with this. I mean I’m glad they did SOMETHING. But this team really did not need another DH candidate.
Philadelphia is getting better and that’s good for baseball.
Sign Addison Russell
I’d have preferred Bryant. But this is good, I guess.
I’d rather have Schwarber + Castellanos over Bryant.
They need to get Conforto I think to round this thing off. Platoon him at LF/DH with a Schwarber.
stupid money
Nice signing I guess, but it pales in comparison to the Cincinnati Reds, who landed Albert Almora Jr. today. The rest of the national league can eat out dust.
When this guy is back to batting .237 and striking out 1 in every 4 at bats, fans will rue the day this guy was signed…..is he the 2021 hitter or the pre 2021 hitter?
Analytics and the modern day fan made this guy larger than life…lifetime 9 WAR
They got Castellanos. What a middle of the line-up: WOW!
Bruce- If Didi gets over his arm problems,Bohm hits anywhere like he did in 2020,and Herrera gets back to his early days,you can remove “middle of the” from your comment.This group would have the capacity to score 6 or 7 runs almost every game.
Didi says he was affected by Covid, so expect a “bounceback year”.
I could see Stott going to SS, Didi sliding over to 3B
and Bohm getting time @ DH unless Bohm finds his D
at the hot corner.
Herrera just needs to provide good D and an above average year for him.
As far as hitters go they have an embarrassment of riches now unless someone gets hurt.
There will be no at bats for Bohm at DH as they will need to save 15-20 games for Realmuto and 10-15 for Harper.
They still may trade for pitching.