Phillies Lefty Slugger Could Replace Yankees' Cody Bellinger

It is almost year ten of Schwarber/Yankee talk that may never occur into any actual deal, and this time, Jesse Rogers of ESPN threw his name into the hat if Cody Bellinger were to walk in free agency.  

"He should sign for much more than $79 million, which is what he just made in his previous deal with Philadelphia," Rogers said of Schwarber, according to ESPN.com. "The Phillies need him more than he needs them, according to insiders. How do you replace 187 home runs over the past four years? You don't. He could also balance out the Yankees' lineup if Cody Bellinger walks. Can you imagine his home run totals with the short porch at Yankee Stadium?"

It would be difficult to envision how Schwarber would fit with the Yankees, given the current roster construction. Unless the team somehow ships Giancarlo Stanton elsewhere, finding a team he will agree to while most likely eating a majority of what's left of the deal, or they just unceremoniously cut him, it doesn't feel possible.

Schwarber does have a dynamic bat, and a guy coming off a 56 home run season isn't usually so readily available on the open market in baseball. Still, he has barely spent any time in the outfield the last two seasons. He played in 41 innings in 2024 and 66 innings this year, and it's for good reason.

He would likely play left field at Yankee Stadium, and the defensive metrics don't love him at the position. He has -49 defensive runs saved and -65 outs above average in left in his career.

It would be historically bad outfield defense if both he and Stanton are healthy, and it is Schwarber tasked with bringing a glove to the park that day. Torture would be one way to describe seeing him chase down liners screaming off the bat of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but there may be no better lefty bopper more suited for the stadium on River Avenue in the Bronx than Schwarber.

It would work exceptionally well if he brings his career-high 31.1% pull percentage in the air to the Yankees. That's the highest mark of his career in that category, according to Baseball Savant.

Schwarber also appears to be one of those players whose bat has aged remarkably well. It wasn't just the pull percentage that was the highest of his career. He had career highs in barrel rate, exit velocity, hard hit rate, and expected slugging. Schwarber also has one of the fastest swings in the sport. His 77.3 MPH average bat speed is in the 98th percentile in baseball.

It's fun to think what his bat would look like if he finally did suit up in pinstripes. It's just hard to see it working unless something drastically changes.

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