Baseball

Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber and Rob Thomson will return

Published

2 weeks ago

December 9, 2025

Ralph

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^andcareer home run on May 19 against the Rockies in Colorado. Schwarber then recorded his 1000^andaccurate shot when hitting your 319^andlong ball, July 25, against the New York Yankees.

Thomson in charge of the team until 2027

PHOTO MATT SLOCUM, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS

Rob Thomson and JT Realmuto

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.

Source: lapresse

Ralph

Ralph Bean is a writer for Sportish. Ralph has written about sports news for the last two years, and is currently an author on the site. He enjoys writing about sports, and hopes to cover more stories in the future.

Baseball

Tyler Rogers and Blue Jays agree on final details of three-year contract

Published

1 week ago

December 16, 2025

Ralph

Tyler Rogers and Blue Jays agree on final details of three-year contract

(Toronto) Right-handed pitcher Tyler Rogers and the Toronto Blue Jays agreed on the final details on Monday of the $37 million deal that will bind the player and the team for the next three seasons.

Rogers’ contract includes an option for the 2029 season.

At 34 years old, Rogers is the Blue Jays’ newest addition to the mound.

Recently, the Toronto team awarded seven-year contracts worth $210 million to Dylan Cease and three-year contracts worth $30 million to Cody Ponce. Additionally, the Blue Jays acquired reliever Chase Lee in a trade with the Detroit Tigers.

In 2025, with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, Rogers led the major leagues with 81 appearances on the mound. Since 2020, he is at the top of Major League Baseball with 403 starts and a total of 406 1/3 innings pitched in relief.

The Mets acquired Rogers on July 30 for pitchers José Buttó and Blade Tidwell, as well as outfielder Drew Gilbert, a minor league prospect.

In 420 career games with the Giants and Mets between 2019 and 2025, Rogers recorded a 2.76 ERA.

To make room for Rogers in the lineup, the Blue Jays designated left-handed pitcher Justin Bruihl for assignment.

Source: lapresse

Ralph

Baseball

Mark Shapiro’s contract with Toronto Blue Jays renewed for five years

Published

2 weeks ago

December 12, 2025

Ralph

Mark Shapiro’s contract with Toronto Blue Jays renewed for five years

(Toronto) Mark Shapiro, president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays, has signed a five-year contract renewal, Rogers Communications announced Friday.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

This extension follows the Blue Jays’ first World Series appearance since 1993.

The Blue Jays defeated the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series and the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Shapiro, 58, was named president and CEO of the Blue Jays after the 2015 season, succeeding Paul Beeston, who was retiring.

Shapiro spent 24 seasons with the Cleveland Guardians, including the last five as team president.

Ross Atkins, who worked with Shapiro in Cleveland, was hired as the Blue Jays’ general manager in December 2015. Atkins signed a contract through the 2026 season.

“The opportunity to lead the Blue Jays organization for the past ten years has been incredibly rewarding,” Shapiro said in a statement.

“Together, we have built an organization of people who care deeply about baseball and are incredibly proud to be part of Team Canada. I am grateful and honored to be able to continue this work.”

Shapiro and Atkins led the Blue Jays to an American League Championship Series appearance in 2016. Toronto struggled the following year and hit rock bottom in 2018 and 2019 as the team began to rebuild around young players like Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The process began to pay dividends during the 2020 season, which was shortened due to the pandemic. The Blue Jays returned to the postseason that year, but were defeated in the first round.

Shapiro signed a five-year contract extension in January 2021. The Blue Jays narrowly missed the playoffs that year and were eliminated in the first round in 2022, and again in 2023.

The Blue Jays finished last in the East Division standings in 2024 before rebounding with a 94-win campaign in 2025. Toronto won the East Division title and enjoyed home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

“Mark’s exceptional leadership has been a driving force behind the Blue Jays’ success, and we are excited for him to continue to lead our team and build on his incredible momentum,” said Edward Rogers, president of the Toronto Blue Jays and executive chairman of Rogers Communications.

“As the proud owners of Team Canada, we are excited to work with Mark and his team to provide them with the tools and resources needed to bring World Series championships back to Canada. »

This extension comes during a very active off-season for the Blue Jays, who this week signed right-handed pitcher Cody Ponce to a three-year, $30 million contract. They also signed ace pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $200 million contract.

Off the field, Shapiro helped lead the Rogers Center renovation, a $300 million, multi-year project. Changes to the stadium include raising the pitchers’ bullpens, upgrading the seating, a new outfield wall and more bars and restaurants.

He also oversaw a major renovation of the Blue Jays’ spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida. This center is now considered one of the best in the Major Leagues.

The Guardians (then called the Indians) reached the playoffs eight times during Shapiro’s reign, including two World Series appearances.

Following the 2005 and 2007 seasons, Shapiro was named Sporting News General Manager of the Year.

Shapiro began his career in Cleveland in 1992 as a baseball operations assistant. Originally from Baltimore, he graduated in history from Princeton University in 1989.

Source: lapresse

Ralph