For the second straight season, the Phillies won the NL East and earned a bye to the NLDS, only to lose in four games.  The Phils again face some big decisions about retaining or replacing members of their core, and the bigger-picture question might be if this core group needs a larger shakeup to get the team over the top.

Guaranteed Contracts

• Trea Turner, SS: $218.19MM through 2033
• Bryce Harper, 1B: $144MM through 2031
• Aaron Nola, SP: $122.86MM through 2030
• Zack Wheeler, SP: $84MM through 2027
• Nick Castellanos, OF: $20MM through 2026
• Cristopher Sanchez, SP: $19MM through 2028 (includes $1MM buyout of $14MM club option for 2029; Phillies also have $15MM club option for 2030 with $1MM buyout)
• Taijuan Walker, SP: $18MM through 2026
• Matt Strahm, RP: $7.5MM through 2026

Option Decisions

• Harrison Bader, OF: $10MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)
• Jose Alvarado, RP: $9MM club option for 2026 ($500K buyout)

2026 financial commitments (assuming Alvarado's option is exercised):$177.34MM
Total future commitments (assuming Alvarado's option is exercised): $642.54M

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projected salaries courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

• Jesus Luzardo (5.165): $10.4MM
• Edmundo Sosa (5.140): $3.9MM
• Alec Bohm (5.106): $10.3MM
• Garrett Stubbs (4.148): $925K
• Brandon Marsh (4.078): $4.5MM
• Jhoan Duran (4.000): $7.6MM
• Bryson Stott (4.000): $5.8MM
• Tanner Banks (3.092): $1.2MM
• Rafael Marchan (3.006): $1MM
• Non-tender candidates: Bohm, Stubbs, Marchan

Free Agents

• Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suarez, J.T. Realmuto, Max Kepler, Jordan Romano, Walker Buehler, David Robertson, Tim Mayza, Lou Trivino, Bader (assuming mutual option is declined)

Coming off a 56-homer season, Kyle Schwarber is understandably looking to cash in, and could aim for a five-year free agent deal that would cover his age 33-37 seasons.  That would be a hefty commitment to a player who is basically a DH-only bat at this point in his career, though it is possible that in exchange for a longer term, Schwarber and his reps at Excel might be willing to bend a little on the contract's average annual value.

Speculating on the tenor of negotiations could be a moot point, however, since there is a sense that the Phillies are dead set on bringing Schwarber back.  There has been public interest in a reunion from Schwarber himself, from president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, and (most importantly) from owner John Middleton.  The Phils have been more than willing to pay top dollar to retain most of their top talents during the Middleton era, ranging from Zack Wheeler's extension to new contracts with Aaron Nola and J.T. Realmuto after first letting them test free agency.

Realmuto is back on the market again now that his five-year, $115.5MM deal is up.  It was money well spent, as Cal Raleigh is the only catcher in baseball to post a higher fWAR than Realmuto's 17.8 number over the 2021-25 span.  On the flip side, Realmuto's production at the plate dropped in his age-34 season, as he hit .257/.315/.384 with 12 homers (for a 94 wRC+) over 550 plate appearances in 2025.