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Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Did Kyle Schwarber's All-Star Game Heroics Drive Up His Price With Free Agency Looming?
Kyle Schwarber put on a thrilling performance at the All-Star Game Tuesday night while taking home MVP honors. The Philadelphia Phillies slugger smashed three home runs in his three allowed swings in the first-ever extra-innings swing-off, leading the NL over the AL. Will this help him when he hits free agency after the season? Schwarber has been the Phillies' best hitter all season, finishing the first half with 30 home runs and a .923 OPS while being selected as an All-Star for the third time in his career. He's in the final year of a four-year, $79 million contract he signed ahead of the 2022 season, which turned out to be a steal for the Phillies. During his time in Philadelphia, he's put up 161 home runs, .847 OPS, 132 OPS+ and 9.3 bWAR. On top of that, he's been the unquestioned leader in the clubhouse and the Phillies have reached the postseason every year with Schwarber, including a World Series appearance in 2022. The Athletic's Jayson Stark told the 'Foul Territory' podcast that Schwarber's MVP performance will drive up his free agency value. 'I've been honestly thinking about, what does this do for Kyle Schwarber's trip to free agency? I think he was going to get paid even though there's really no precedent I think for a contract for a guy who fits his profile,' Stark said. 'I've talked to players in that National League clubhouse about that guy afterwards and just hearing Kyle Stowers say, 'That guy's a legend and this just made him more of a legend.'' Stark then concluded: 'Does this help Kyle Schwarber's trip to free agency? Because I'm going to vote yes.' Schwarber will be one of the top bats on the free-agent market this winter. He and the Phillies talked about a contract extension this past offseason, but no deal materialized and talks were tabled. However, Schwarber has repeatedly said he wants to stay in Philadelphia and it would be a devastating loss to the Phillies if he leaves. ESPN's Jeff Passan previously predicted Schwarber will land a four-year, $100 million deal, but his All-Star heroics could push that number higher. Related Headlines Top MLB reporter: Teams Will 'Laugh At' Luis Robert Jr. If He Makes This Demand MLB Reporter Predicts Phillies 'Geared Up to Do Something Huge' At Trade Deadline Disgraced former NFLPA boss reportedly used union funds for jaunts at strip clubs Three Key Battles to Watch at New York Giants Training Camp
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
MLB Reporter Predicts Phillies 'Geared Up to Do Something Huge' At Trade Deadline
Due to poor roster construction in the offseason, the Philadelphia Phillies are dealing with the same dilemma they had at last year's trade deadline — the need for a high-leverage reliever and right-handed outfield bat. The Phillies acquired reliever Carlos Estevez and outfielder Austin Hays at the 2024 deadline, but both left in free agency. With the signings of reliever Jordan Romano and outfielder Max Kepler going poorly, the Phillies will most likely now be dealing their top prospects to go all-in. During an appearance on the 'Foul Territory' podcast, The Athletic's Jayson Stark predicts that president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is going to do something 'huge' at the July 31 trade deadline. 'He has this sense about his team that with the right move or moves they can win the World Series,' said Stark. 'That everybody else is beatable — their team too — but they have that team that nobody wants to play because of their pitching. 'I ran into a guy in Atlanta who has talked to Dave and he said he thinks Dave is geared up to do something huge. He's got his prospect chips ready to go.' Those include five top-100 prospects: Infielder Aidan Miller (No. 2 Phillies prospect, 21st overall) Outfielder Justin Crawford (No. 3 Phillies prospect, 47th overall) Catcher Eduardo Tait (No. 4 Phillies prospect, 61st overall) Pitcher Mick Abel (No. 5 Phillies prospect, 85th overall) Infielder Aroon Escobar (No. 6 Phillies prospect, 95th overall) Pitcher Andrew Painter remains off limits and is expected to make his MLB debut at some point this summer. With Dombrowski ready to unload the farm, he will be looking to get a controllable bat and arm — not just rentals. 'That's what I think Dave would do in an ideal world, give up a ton of prospects for a big bat, a huge arm and two guys he can control beyond this year,' Stark said, adding that the Phillies would love to get both All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton and closer Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins, but that won't be happening. Several elite relievers might be available at the deadline: Cleveland Guardians' Emmanuel Clase, Pittsburgh Pirates' David Bednar and Dennis Santana, Baltimore Orioles' Felix Bautista and Boston Red Sox's Aroldis Chapman. However, the market for right-handed outfield bats is extremely thin, with Los Angeles Angels' Taylor Ward potentially being the best option available. If the Phillies are unable to procure an outfield bat, their best option would be to go internally and bring up Crawford, who is hitting .331 in 73 Triple-A games with an .839 OPS. The issue with Crawford, though, is he has little power (two home runs) and doesn't put the ball in the air. The Phillies need to make big moves because their rotation with Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Jesus Luzardo and Aaron Nola — currently on the IL and expected back in August — can carry them to the World Series. They just need their offense and bullpen to contribute their fair share to get them to the end line. Related Headlines Top MLB reporter: Teams Will 'Laugh At' Luis Robert Jr. If He Makes This Demand Did Kyle Schwarber's All-Star Game Heroics Drive Up His Price With Free Agency Looming? Disgraced former NFLPA boss reportedly used union funds for jaunts at strip clubs Three Key Battles to Watch at New York Giants Training Camp
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Did Kyle Schwarber's All-Star Game Heroics Drive Up His Price With Free Agency Looming?
Kyle Schwarber put on a thrilling performance at the All-Star Game Tuesday night while taking home MVP honors. The Philadelphia Phillies slugger smashed three home runs in his three allowed swings in the first-ever extra-innings swing-off, leading the NL over the AL. Will this help him when he hits free agency after the season? Schwarber has been the Phillies' best hitter all season, finishing the first half with 30 home runs and a .923 OPS while being selected as an All-Star for the third time in his career. He's in the final year of a four-year, $79 million contract he signed ahead of the 2022 season, which turned out to be a steal for the Phillies. During his time in Philadelphia, he's put up 161 home runs, .847 OPS, 132 OPS+ and 9.3 bWAR. On top of that, he's been the unquestioned leader in the clubhouse and the Phillies have reached the postseason every year with Schwarber, including a World Series appearance in 2022. The Athletic's Jayson Stark told the 'Foul Territory' podcast that Schwarber's MVP performance will drive up his free agency value. 'I've been honestly thinking about, what does this do for Kyle Schwarber's trip to free agency? I think he was going to get paid even though there's really no precedent I think for a contract for a guy who fits his profile,' Stark said. 'I've talked to players in that National League clubhouse about that guy afterwards and just hearing Kyle Stowers say, 'That guy's a legend and this just made him more of a legend.'' Stark then concluded: 'Does this help Kyle Schwarber's trip to free agency? Because I'm going to vote yes.' Schwarber will be one of the top bats on the free-agent market this winter. He and the Phillies talked about a contract extension this past offseason, but no deal materialized and talks were tabled. However, Schwarber has repeatedly said he wants to stay in Philadelphia and it would be a devastating loss to the Phillies if he leaves. ESPN's Jeff Passan previously predicted Schwarber will land a four-year, $100 million deal, but his All-Star heroics could push that number higher. Related Headlines MLB Reporter Predicts Phillies 'Geared Up to Do Something Huge' At Trade Deadline Disgraced former NFLPA boss reportedly used union funds for jaunts at strip clubs Three Key Battles to Watch at New York Giants Training Camp New York Mets analysts detail likely cost in blockbuster trades for Eugenio Suarez or Corey Seager
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Phillies' Dave Dombrowski Plans to Add a Reliever at Trade Deadline, Move Starters to Bullpen in October
Phillies' Dave Dombrowski Plans to Add a Reliever at Trade Deadline, Move Starters to Bullpen in October originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Philadelphia Phillies are heading into a massive July and trade deadline, as the current iteration of the team might not last past this year. With Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suarez, and J.T. Realmuto all set to be free agents after 2025, the Phillies need to win this season before the team starts to break apart. Advertisement Fortunately, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has a plan. In an article from Jayson Stark in The Athletic, Dombrowski revealed the Phillies' plan to target more bullpen help, just not in the way most fans would expect. "That's because Dombrowski didn't sound like a man shopping for multiple high-leverage relievers," Stark writes. "At least not at the moment." While most Phillies fans are clamoring for Dombrowski and the front office to acquire the best relievers on the market, Starks' report hints that it isn't likely the plan in Philadelphia. Instead, they plan to address the bullpen differently. "Over the next few weeks," Stark writes. "The Phillies will lean on the accelerator, trying to acquire a reliever with the talent to get huge outs in October and the temperament to handle getting those outs in a place like Philadelphia. But do they need more than one arm like that? Dombrowski talked like someone who thinks he can use his starting-pitching depth to solve his bullpen issues." Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski during Phillies Alumni Weekend and the 20th anniversary of Citizens Bank Park before the game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Hartline-Imagn Images While the Phillies do plan to add a reliever, Dombrowski is planning to utilize his team's depth at starting pitcher to round out his bullpen depth. Based on the current rotation, it isn't hard to blame him for such a plan. Advertisement Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Christopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo, Ranger Suarez, Andrew Painter, Mick Abel, and Taijuan Walker round out the deepest starting rotation in baseball. In the postseason, teams typically don't need more than three to four quality starters. So, for the Phillies, they could move half of their starters to the bullpen, and have not just a deep starting rotation, but a strong bullpen as well. The Phillies have previously used their starters out of the bullpen in the postseason, but this go around, the Phillies have more than enough starters to make it work. Walker is already coming out of the bullpen, and with Nola and Painter expected up at some point after the All-Star break, the Phillies could be looking at eight quality starters on the roster. Instead of trading a starter or sending one to Triple-A, Dombrowski is planning to utilize their extra starters out of the bullpen in October. The Phillies will still look to add a reliever, but the big additions to the bullpen are coming in the form of their starters heading to the bullpen once October and postseason baseball come around. Advertisement Related: Phillies Linked to All-Star Orioles Closer Amid Desperate Bullpen Need Related: Former Phillies Veteran Announces Retirement from MLB This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 25, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Presenting the Mets' All-Quarter Century team, Queens' best of the 2000s
Editor's note: The Athletic is marking 2025 by naming an MLB All-Quarter Century Team, selected by Jayson Stark. We invited readers to take our survey and make their picks for the best players at each position since 2000, with the results announced in an upcoming story. Some of our beat writers are picking All-Quarter Century Teams for the teams they cover. Check this page to find all of our All-Quarter Century Team coverage. Advertisement The New York Mets entered the 2000s in a good place. They had just made the NLCS, losing in six games to a rival, and they were a favorite in the National League to win a pennant in 2000 (which they did). They entered 2025 in a good place. They had just made the NLCS, losing in six games to (perhaps an incipient) rival, and they are a favorite in the National League to win a pennant. Almost makes it seem that the intervening quarter-century was smooth, eh? The juxtaposition of 2025 to 2000 belies the occasional peaks and longer stretches in the valley that the franchise has experienced in that time. The Mets have endured the Bernie Madoff scandal and its consequent years of austerity, a pair of brutal late-season collapses, and a series of debilitating injuries to many of the players I'm about to single out for praise. But the team I'm about to build? It's pretty good. The left side of the infield has combined for more than 100 career wins above replacement (according to FanGraphs). The center fielder has the second-most WAR among all outfielders this century. The pitching staff, while shy on longevity, can be dominant. This is the Mets All-Quarter Century Team. Since it's been almost two decades since his last game with the Mets, you might have thought Piazza wasn't behind the plate enough this century to make this choice so easy. Well, he's caught 200 more games in the 2000s than any other Met, and Piazza isn't going to lose on production to anyone, Met or otherwise. From 2000 to 2005, Piazza hit .286/.368/.525 with 157 home runs. Honorable mention: Travis d'Arnaud Alonso has made this a simple decision, as well, putting up numbers on par with Carlos Delgado's best years for a lot longer in blue and orange. He's played almost twice as many games at first as any other Met, and he should set the franchise home run record later this season. Advertisement Honorable mentions: Delgado, Lucas Duda This is the first difficult selection, and I'm going with Murphy over Jeff McNeil's higher WAR with the Mets. And yes, it's because of about a 10-game stretch in October 2015. This is no slight to McNeil, who has made two All-Star teams and won a batting title with the Mets; he's been their best regular-season second baseman this century. But Murphy's postseason run in 2015 included homers in five straight games (many off the game's best pitchers that season). He provided all the Mets' offense in the deciding victory over the Dodgers in the NLDS — probably the best game the Mets played this century until last fall. And Murphy manned second base nearly as often as McNeil has, making his own All-Star team in 2014. Honorable mention: McNeil Here again, I'm bypassing the club's actual leader in WAR at the position (José Reyes, of course) for a different pick. Lindor's played more than 500 fewer games at short than Reyes (and 800 overall), but he's approaching the same overall value and emerged as a leader for this era of Mets baseball. Honorable mention: Reyes Does this require explanation? Wright is the best Mets player of this century and the last Met to be named team captain. He played five times more games at third than any other Met, such that there's not even a point in having an honorable mention here. (Sorry, Robin Ventura.) He also authored one of the finest individual seasons in team history in 2007, when he might have won MVP if not for the team collapsing around him. If you want to be super strict about positional alignment in the outfield, then this is a close race between Nimmo and Cliff Floyd. (Floyd played more games in left this century than Nimmo has so far.) But when you add up what Nimmo has done in all three outfield positions, he's head and shoulders above the other contenders here. Advertisement Nimmo has matured from an aw-shucks kid from Wyoming into a verifiable team leader, a guy who cried tears of joy on the field last season when the Mets clinched their first postseason series at Citi Field. By the end of his contract in 2030, he's poised to play 15 seasons in a Mets uniform — more than all but Ed Kranepool in franchise history. Honorable mention: Floyd Beltrán isn't just the center fielder for this team; he's the center fielder on the all-franchise team if we go back to 1962. Following a slow start to his Mets tenure in 2005, Beltrán was a force for the final six years of his contract. He made five All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves, placed in the top five for the MVP in 2006 and brought back Zack Wheeler in a deadline deal in 2011. Honorable mention: Nimmo Perhaps Conforto didn't live up to all the promise he showed as a sweet-swinging rookie comfortably performing in a pennant race and the postseason in 2015. Overall, though, he had a fine Mets career that included an All-Star team in 2017 and a 30-homer season in 2019. It's unfortunate that his two best years as a Met were both cut short: 2017 by a shoulder injury and 2020 by the pandemic. Honorable mention: Curtis Granderson Picking a DH doesn't feel right for a team that didn't have one for 21 seasons this century. But let's go with the best hitter not yet on the team, a guy whose acquisition provided as big an in-season spark as an offense has ever experienced. Céspedes did, after all, hit a game-winning homer in the first home game in which the Mets ever played a DH. As with some other greats in franchise history, the memories are better if we forget how it ended. OK, so before you furrow your brow, I'm going with guys who actually came off the bench for most of their Mets tenures. Advertisement Castro ranks fourth among Mets backstops in WAR this century despite never batting more than 240 times in a season with New York. He's getting pushed here now by Luis Torrens, although so is Francisco Alvarez, so Torrens might not be a 'backup' much longer. Had Castro's fly ball to the warning track in the first inning of the final game of the 2007 regular season traveled about six more feet, he'd have supplanted Piazza on this team. Flores is a Mets icon even though he qualified for the batting title only once in Queens, in 2015. A walk-off magician, he overcame the lack of a solid defensive position to be a consistent contributor. I remember writing about him weekly when part of my first job was covering the Appalachian League and he was a 17-year-old wunderkind in Kingsport; that was literally half a lifetime ago for him. Is Chavez's catch still the most memorable Mets play of this century? (Other contenders off the top of the noggin include Piazza's home run in the first game back after Sept. 11, Bartolo Colon's home run and Pete Alonso's season-saver last fall.) He had the best year of his career in 2006, hitting better than .300 with 22 doubles while filling in often for Floyd. Smith edges out Lenny Harris and Marlon Anderson for his pinch hitting prowess. That's right, I'm not even factoring in his absurd 2020 season — which in retrospect will go down as one of the great anomalies in club history. But when pinch hitting for the Mets, Smith posted a .902 OPS with some clutch homers, most notably his unbelievable shot to end the 2019 season. Honorable mentions: Harris, Anderson, Joe McEwing, Mike Baxter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Scott Hairston DeGrom is as easy a choice as any on the board — a legitimate contender to be on a team picked from the entire league. His run of success from the start of the 2018 season through his injury halfway through 2021 is on par with the greatest in the sport's history. (His ERA+ over that stretch is better than the best four-season stretches by Sandy Koufax, Greg Maddux or Randy Johnson. Pedro Martínez does best deGrom with his run from 1997 through 2000.) Santana had just 3 1/2 healthy seasons as a Met, but he was among the game's aces throughout that stretch. He delivered a signature performance on the penultimate day of the 2008 season and, of course, the first no-hitter in club history. Advertisement While Leiter's most memorable start as a Met came in 1999, he was the ace of the 2000 pennant-winners and a stalwart at the top of the rotation through 2004. He did not post an ERA above 4.00 this century with the Mets. Dickey owns the fewest wins above replacement of this group, ranking way down at ninth for the club among starting pitchers. His 2012 Cy Young season, however, was an obvious bright spot, and his trade to Toronto helped spark the Mets' eventual pennant in 2015. For the last spot, I'm going with Harvey over Noah Syndergaard. Syndergaard is actually second among Mets starters in WAR this century, behind only deGrom. However, it's hard to overstate how meaningful Harvey was to Mets fans at the time of his arrival in 2012 and breakout in 2013. And Harvey was right there with deGrom as the ace of the 2015 staff — a guy who deserved Game 1 starts in the postseason (and, as I duck, the ninth inning of Game 5). Honorable mention: Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, Tom Glavine I contemplated going strictly by bullpen roles, but decided that byzantine arguments about who the best longman of the century for the Mets was — Darren Oliver over Trevor Williams, I think — is best left for the comments. Díaz's 2022 season is the best by a Mets reliever this century, and out of this group, he's still the guy getting the nod to close. No Met has thrown more innings out of the pen this century than Familia, whose struggles in the 2015 World Series and at the end of his Mets tenure have overshadowed how good and important he was last decade. Wagner and Benitez were excellent closers who did not do their best work in the postseason, unfortunately. Reed is the best set-up man the Mets have had this century, and Lugo was for a time as useful a reliever as any in the sport (even if the Mets often labored to maximize that usage). Parnell was a solid reliever for a lot of mediocre teams, and Feliciano — or 'Perpetual Pedro,' as Gary Cohen took to calling him — felt like he got a big out every day. He appeared in 344 games over a four-year stretch, or easily more than half of New York's games. Honorable mention: Aaron Heilman, Adam Ottavino, Francisco Rodriguez And because making a lineup is fun: SS Lindor CF Beltrán C Piazza 3B Wright RF Conforto DH Céspedes 1B Alonso 2B Murphy LF Nimmo (Top photo of Jacob deGrom: Brad Penner / USA Today)
