Although the Phillies are World Series contenders this season, retaining Kyle Schwarber in free agency is imperative to the future success of the ball club.

Phillies managing partner, John Middleton had this to say regarding Kyle Schwarber’s impending free agency: “We need no motivation whatsoever when it comes to Kyle Schwarber,” and added: “We love him. We want to keep him.”

He’s having an MVP-caliber season for the Phillies this year, ranking first in RBIs and second in home runs trailing only Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh. Thus far, Schwarber has totaled 49 home runs, 119 RBIs while hitting .243. Schwarber also has a career-high 4.3 WAR with 19 games remaining.

MLB insider Jeff Passan listed the Rangers, Braves, Padres, Astros, Reds, and Tigers as possible suitors of Schwarber outisde of Philadelphia.

If the Phillies lose Schwarber in the offseason, there will be a huge hole in the lineup. Schwarber is a large reason why the Phillies rank top-10 among all teams in home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage.

Throughout his career, Schwarber has 19.6 WAR, 1,033 hits and 333 home runs. In recent seasons, Schwarber has seen an increase in batting average, hitting over .240 in the past two seasons as opposed to .218 and .197 for the Phillies in 2022 and 2023.

This has been pivotal to Schwarber’s transition as a complete hitter. Phillies manager Rob Thomson had high praise for his slugger saying: “He’s become just a pure hitter now and with power.”

Philadelphia will do everything in their power to retain him, but if they are unable to, it may spell trouble for the Phillies’ future.