With the 2025 season behind us and the Hot Stove ready to burn, we’re taking a closer look at some of the most prominent players eligible for free agency.
Position: Designated hitter/left fielder
Team: Philadelphia Phillies
Age (as of Opening Day 2026): 33
2025 stats: .240/.365/.563 (.928 OPS), 56 HR, 132 RBIs, 111 R, 150 OPS+, 4.9 fWAR
As teams approach their offseason plans, some will have specific needs as they gauge the free-agent market. A new third baseman, perhaps. Maybe a corner outfielder or a frontline starting pitcher. Some players won’t fit the bill for every club out there.
When it comes to a bat capable of hitting 50 home runs, there isn’t a team in the league that wouldn’t love to add that into its lineup.
That’s not to say that Kyle Schwarber will have 30 teams bidding for his services, but the veteran slugger should find a healthy market as he hits free agency entering his age-33 season.
Schwarber posted a career year in 2025, leading the National League with 56 home runs and 132 RBIs for the Phillies. He played in all 162 games, posting a .928 OPS and 150 OPS+ to cap an exquisite four-year run in Philadelphia.
Since joining the Phillies in 2022, Schwarber averaged more than 46 home runs and 108 RBIs while playing in 156 games per season. The Phillies would love to bring him back in 2026 and beyond, but the competition should be fierce as teams look to bolster their respective lineups with his big left-handed bat.
Let’s take a look at how Schwarber’s offseason might play out:
After becoming the second player in Phillies history to reach the 50-homer mark, Schwarber’s importance to Philadelphia’s lineup is obvious – and his value in the clubhouse might be even higher. He is an NL MVP finalist and will finish in the top three in voting next week, and given the Phillies’ aging roster, his return would help keep the window for contention open for a few more years. That said, Philly’s postseason disappointments over the past three seasons could prompt president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to shake things up this winter.
Texas ranked ninth in the American League and 22nd in the Majors in runs scored, wasting the league-low 3.47 ERA posted by its pitching staff as the Rangers finished 81-81. Joc Pederson was a disappointment as the DH, leaving a big hole in the lineup that is likely to be addressed this winter. The Rangers ranked 12th in the AL with 175 home runs, so adding a power bat such as Schwarber’s would give the offense a much-needed boost.
Boston knows all about Schwarber, who posted a .957 OPS in 41 games for the Red Sox in 2021 after being acquired at the Trade Deadline. Schwarber has thrived at Fenway Park in an admittedly small sample size, hitting six homers with a 1.122 OPS in 26 career games in Boston. The biggest obstacle to a Red Sox-Schwarber reunion could be Masataka Yoshida, who has two years and $37.2 million remaining on his contract. Yoshida hit well during the final two months of 2025, so if the Red Sox can find a way to trade him, it could open the door for Schwarber to return to Boston.
The only power bat comparable to Schwarber’s on this year’s market belongs to Pete Alonso, who set the Mets’ franchise home run record in 2025. Alonso’s return to New York would eliminate the need for Schwarber, but if the first baseman signs elsewhere, the Mets – who have roughly $90 million coming off the books – would have a glaring need for a home run threat, making Schwarber a logical fit. Taking him away from the division-rival Phillies would simply be a bonus.
The DH spot was a revolving door for the Tigers in 2025, as 10 different players started games there. Colt Keith’s 43 starts led the team, which had a cumulative .223/.305/.408 slash line at DH. Adding a veteran bat such as Schwarber would be a big lift for an offense that struggled during the second half, though how Detroit handles Tarik Skubal – who is set to become a free agent after the 2026 season – will play a big role in how the club addresses its payroll.
Baltimore has a strong young core of position players, but adding a veteran bat – one with a strong reputation as a clubhouse leader – could help push the Orioles back to the postseason. The Orioles ranked 11th in the AL in runs scored and tied for sixth in homers, numbers that would surely rise with the addition of Schwarber. After winning 101 games in 2023 and 91 in 2024, Baltimore had only 75 wins in 2025, putting pressure on the front office to make moves this offseason in an effort to get back to October.
Atlanta will have an opening at DH with Marcell Ozuna’s contract expiring, and while the Braves could use the spot to keep catchers Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy in the lineup together, neither offers Schwarber’s power. Atlanta could trade one of the catchers to address other needs, then try to swipe Schwarber’s bat away from the Phillies with a big offer to the free agent.
The Reds took a big step forward in 2025, returning to the postseason for the first time in a 162-game season since 2013. Cincinnati hasn’t been a club to compete with the bigger markets when it comes to free agency, but the Reds can offer Schwarber something no other team can: the chance to play at home. Schwarber hails from nearby Middletown, Ohio, and while this feels like an unlikely spot for him to land, the Reds can’t be ruled out entirely.
“I think he’s one of the more tricky projections in the game. He is just different than other guys who have been in similar situations because he seems to just be getting better at an age when that shouldn’t be the case.”
It’s difficult to find many flaws in Schwarber’s performance at the plate last season, but the slugger’s production against breaking balls could serve as a potential red flag and be a sign of how pitchers might approach him moving forward. Schwarber hit only .158 with a .378 slugging percentage against breaking balls, a stark drop from his numbers against them in 2024 (.243/.497). Schwarber also ranked in the bottom five percent of the league in whiff percentage and in the 11th percent in strikeout percentage, though that was a small price to pay for his massive production.
Finding a good comp for a 33-year-old DH coming off his best season is a difficult task. Most DH-only players don’t typically land big multi-year contracts but rather convert into designated hitters in the middle of a long-term deal initially signed while they still played a position. J.D. Martinez signed a five-year, $110 million contract with the Red Sox in the spring of 2018 as he entered his age-30 season, making the All-Star team in every full season of the deal, the lone exception coming in 2020, when there was no Midsummer Classic.
