Harper lobbies for Schwarber to stay: 'Don't want him to go anywhere'

Bryce Harper is making it known that he wants impending free agent Kyle Schwarber back on the Philadelphia Phillies next year.

"I don't want him to go anywhere else," Harper said, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. "And that's not me saying anything to ownership or (president of baseball operations) Dave (Dombrowski). Obviously, they want him too. And I think he wants to be here. I think he likes the community. He likes where he lives.

"But also, you know, it's nice to be wanted. I don't know if he's going to get there (to free agency). Like I said, I hope he doesn't. But if he does, he's going to have a lot of teams lined up for his services because he's dang good."

Schwarber slugged two home runs in the Phillies' 3-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday to tie Aaron Judge for the MLB lead.

The 32-year-old owns a .998 OPS (175 OPS+) on the season and has reached base in 46 straight games dating back to last year. He's already walked 29 times after leading the National League with 106 in 2024.

For as great as Schwarber has been on the diamond, Harper believes his value to the team runs even deeper.

"He's such a good leader," he said. "He's such a good person in the community. Great family, great person. I think he's a guy that, obviously, our team can build around."

Schwarber is second only to Judge in home runs (145) since joining the Phillies on a four-year, $79-million contract in 2022.

He owns a career .840 OPS (125 OPS+) across 11 seasons.