Report: Phillies' Arch-Rival Emerging as Serious Kyle Schwarber Threat

Heading into the MLB offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies have viewed re-signing star slugger Kyle Schwarber as a top priority. Unfortunately, everyone has known that bringing him back will be a tough thing to do.

Schwarber has become one of the most coveted bats in all of baseball. His pure power is an intriguing fit for almost any team around the league.

While the Phillies are still working to try and bring him back, they are starting to face stiff competition from multiple teams. One team, in particular, would offer a nightmare scenario for Philadelphia.

According to a report from ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, the New York Mets are among the list of teams interested in signing Schwarber. Passan also name-dropped the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox as teams interested in him.

"Kyle Schwarber: The bellwether of the class. Schwarber’s market is healthy," Passan wrote. "He’s going to get years, and he’s going to get AAV, and at this point, he might be the likeliest of the big free agents to sign first. Unclear if something gets done before the meetings, but I’d be surprised if they end and he doesn’t have a team. The Phillies remain the favorite, with Boston, Cincinnati, the Mets and others in the mix."

Seeing Schwarber bolt for the Mets would be an awful feeling for the Phillies. If he were to leave, the hope would be that he would head to the American League.

During the 2025 MLB season with Philadelphia, Schwarber put up monster numbers. He played in 162 games, hitting 56 home runs to go along with 132 RBI. In addition, he produced a slash line of .240/.365/.563.

At 32 years old, Schwarber still has some good baseball left ahead of him. He seems to be playing the best baseball of his career right now.

Hopefully, the Phillies are able to work some magic and get a new deal done with him. However, there are teams around the league, including New York, who want to thwart that attempt.

Only time will tell what ends up happening with Schwarber. Fans can hope for the best, but should also prepare for the worst.

Expect to hear more news and rumors about Schwarber's future in the near future. For now, he's still in the stage of garnering interest from multiple different franchises.