Kyle Schwarber's future with the Philadelphia Phillies is murky at best.
The 32-year-old slugging designated hitter has become an easy fan favorite during his four years in Philadelphia. His contract is due to expire at the end of the year, though, and according to Robert Murray of FanSided, there's "no evidence" any extension talks have been taking place.
Schwarber isn't the only noteworthy free agent for the Phillies; catcher J.T. Realmuto is headed to the hot stove as well. This could be the last, best chance for the current Phillies core to win a World Series, and they all seem to be feeling the pressure early in the season.
Amid all that uncertainty, one Philadelphia radio personality is calling for the Phillies to take a different kind of action with Schwarber: changing his spot in the lineup.
On Tuesday, Joe Giglio of 94 WIP urged the Phillies to move Schwarber back to the leadoff spot, where he has hit for most of his Philadelphia tenure, instead of the fourth spot behind Bryce Harper, where manager Rob Thomson has had him batting lately.
“Schwarber has cooled off considerably since being moved to the cleanup spot to protect Bryce,” Giglio said. “I know this is a fun little experiment, and it’s worked out okay since Stott has been fine. But I just need more out of Schwarber.”
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“I’d rather keep him at leadoff. I understand why they did what they did, because they were desperate for protection behind Bryce. But they haven’t gotten the best out of [Schwarber] since they moved him down.”
On the season, Schwarber has fared better hitting fourth than he has first, though it's a very small sample size. He's got a 1.003 OPS with three home runs in 16 games in the cleanup spot, compared to an .892 OPS with four home runs in his nine games leading off.
Last season, Schwarber batted leadoff in all 149 games he started, putting up the second-best season of his career in terms of OPS+ (135).
There's definitely a mental advantage that comes with the hulking Schwarber threatening to hit a nuke against an opposing pitcher during the first at-bat of the game. Whether or not Thomson will make the move remains to be seen.
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