ORLANDO, Fla. — Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said retaining Kyle Schwarber was an offseason priority during a news conference after the team was eliminated from the playoffs in October. The executive backed that up on Tuesday, reportedly agreeing to a blockbuster deal that will keep the free-agent slugger in Philadelphia.

Schwarber will sign a five-year, $150 million contract with the Phillies, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, allowing him to stay in red pinstripes through his age-37 season. The designated hitter emerged as a star after joining the Phillies in 2022, and he’ll get to play out the rest of his late-prime seasons with the club.

The Phillies paid a steep price for an aging DH, and the deal is not without some risk. But after a 2025 season in which Schwarber hit 56 home runs with a .928 OPS to finish as the runner-up for National League MVP, it was not clear how the team would replicate that kind of power production without the left-handed hitter in the lineup. Additionally, the new pact ensures the Phillies will have a clubhouse leader in Schwarber around as they pursue their goal of winning a World Series championship with their current core.

Perhaps the top batter on the free-agent market this winter, Schwarber has only continued to enhance his game over the past two seasons, improving his batting average and performance against left-handed pitchers. He is now definitely one of the premier power hitters in the major leagues, hitting 187 home runs in his four years in Philadelphia. The Phillies may be sacrificing some roster flexibility by locking Schwarber in as the everyday DH for the next five seasons, but they’re banking on his ability to help them slug past those potential issues.