John Middleton, Philadelphia Phillies
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Philadelphia Phillies' owner John Middleton offers an interesting perspective around the Phillies bullpen situation and plans for the 2025 MLB trade deadline.
Schwarber, 32, is eligible for free agency after the season. Although there’s mutual interest, talks didn’t progress in spring training, and the sides agreed to table things until after the season.
The Philadelphia Phillies could've landed Garrett Crochet, but passed for the wrong reasons. Dave Dombrowski could be to blame for shutting their World Series window.
Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middle recently broke his silence, revealing his thoughts on a potential extension with Phillies' star Kyle Schwarber.
Making these potential promotions and positional changes isn't necessarily a permanent move. Many star pitchers have skipped back and forth between the bullpen and rotation — and the Phillies have a lot of stock in Abel, Painter or both becoming mainstays as starters in the near future.
The Philadelphia Phillies make it clear the goal is to re-sign Kyle Schwarber, so why isn't there already a signature on the dotted line?
Since Schwarber signed with the Phillies in 2022, he has hit 162 with the club — the third-most home runs in baseball behind only Aaron Judge (192) and Shohei Ohtani (164). His 12 home runs in the postseason since 2022 are tied with teammate Bryce Harper for the most in baseball.
As the second half of the season gets underway and the trade deadline approaches at the end of July, let’s take stock of the reliever market.