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The Philadelphia Phillies had a chance to extend Kyle Schwarber’s contract in the offseason, but they weren’t able to get it done.
Now, the slugger has put together one of the best offensive seasons of this generation. As a result, his value in free agency has skyrocketed, and the Phillies run the risk of losing him to another club in the offseason.
MLB’s Mark Feinsand recently listed the Baltimore Orioles as a potential landing spot for the Phillies’ star slugger.
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“Players entering their age-33 season don’t tend to find themselves this high on the list, but Schwarber is an exception,” Feinsand wrote. “His plus power has him leading the NL with 45 home runs and 109 RBIs in 127 games, and he’s already set a career high in fWAR (4.2) with more than a month remaining in the season. Schwarber has the ability to play left field on occasion, but he’s essentially a full-time DH who will make any lineup better immediately upon arrival.”
Schwarber is likely to land a deal worth north of $100 million at this point, and the Orioles could afford to pay that for a slugger of his caliber.
But it might not make sense.
With Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo both on the roster, the Orioles can’t afford to plug the designated hitter spot with one player. They will likely want to rotate their catchers in and out of catching and the DH slot.
The Phillies should be the favorites to land Schwarber. They’re likely going to be willing to give him whatever contract he needs, as he’s the heart and soul of the team. His free agency will be interesting to watch.
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