Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber and Rob Thomson will return

(Philadelphia) Slugger Kyle Schwarber, along with his manager, Rob Thomson, will return to Philadelphia.

Multiple media outlets reported Tuesday that Schwarber had signed a five-year, $150 million contract with the Phillies, hours after the Pennsylvania team announced a one-year contract extension for Thomson.

ESPN was first to report Schwarber’s contract, citing unnamed sources.

Schwarber was one of the biggest names available on the free agent market. His new contract with the Phillies could lead to increased activity during Major Baseball’s winter meetings, as other teams that coveted him will now have to resort to their alternative plans.

Schwarber is coming off a breakout season with the Phillies, setting personal bests with a National League-record 56 home runs and a major league-record 132 RBIs. He also scored a personal best 111 points while leading his club to a second consecutive National East Division title.

Schwarber’s 23 home runs against left-handed pitchers set a major league record for a left-handed hitter, surpassing Stan Musial (1949) and Matt Olson (2021) at 22.

He also finished second in National League MVP voting behind Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Shohei Ohtani.

“Good for him. He deserved it,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who coached Schwarber in Boston in 2021.

Schwarber, 32, turned down a qualified offer of just over $22 million from the Phillies last month.

Schwarber grew up in southwest Ohio before playing baseball at Indiana University. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the fourth pick in the 2014 amateur draft. He then contributed to the Cubs’ first World Series since 1908 in 2016.

Schwarber has a .234 batting average with 23 home runs and 37 RBIs in 73 playoff games. He hit two home runs in this year’s National League Division Series against the Dodgers.

Schwarber hit 38 long balls for the Cubs in 2019, but Illinois opted not to extend the contract offer after he hit just .188 in 59 games during the 2020 season, which was shortened by the coronavirus pandemic.

He then signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Washington Nationals in January 2021. After hitting 25 home runs in 72 games with them, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox at the trade deadline. He helped the Red Sox reach the American League Championship Series before being eliminated by the Houston Astros.

Then, Schwarber signed a four-year, $79 million contract with the Phillies in March 2022. He flourished with them, hitting 187 long balls and producing 434 runs in 627 games.

He reached his 300^and career home run on May 19 against the Rockies in Colorado. Schwarber then recorded his 1000^and accurate shot when hitting your 319^and long ball, July 25, against the New York Yankees.

Thomson in charge of the team until 2027

Separately, the Phillies signed manager Rob Thomson to a one-year contract extension after he led the team to four straight playoff appearances.

Thomson, 62, led the Phillies to the World Series in 2022 and the National League Championship Series in 2023, then to two National League East titles in 2024 and 2025. The Phillies were eliminated in four games by the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series.

Thomson led the Phillies to second place in wins (346) and winning percentage (.580) among all MLB teams, behind the Dodgers (368 wins/.616).

He replaced Joe Girardi as manager of the Phillies on June 3, 2021. Thomson has been with the club since the 2018 season, when he was hired as a bench instructor under former manager Gabe Kapler.

Thomson spent 28 years in the New York Yankees organization (1990-2017), including 10 as a bench instructor (2008, 2015-17) and third base instructor (2009-14).

Thomson became the fourth manager in MLB history to reach the postseason in each of his first four full seasons in charge. He joins Dave Roberts, Aaron Boone and Mike Matheny as the only managers to accomplish this feat. Thomson also became the third manager in Phillies history to win back-to-back sectional titles, joining Charlie Manuel and Danny Ozark.