PHILADELPHIA -- Kyle Schwarber kicked off the second half of the season by picking up exactly where he left off in the first half -- and in Tuesday's All-Star Game MVP-winning performance.
After homering on all three swings in the Midsummer Classic swing-off, Schwarber went deep on his first swing of Friday night's series-opening 6-5 loss against the Angels at Citizens Bank Park. It was his 31st homer of the season.
Schwarber is on pace for 51 home runs. The only Phillie in the 50-homer club is Ryan Howard, who clubbed 58 in 2006.
"It'd be awesome," Howard said. "For the fans, that would be great for them to see another guy be able to get 50 home runs. And I know for Kyle, that would be an amazing accomplishment."
It would also seemingly lead to quite a payday for Schwarber, who is set to be a free agent at the end of the season. But there is no amount of home runs he can hit -- whether it's putting on a show at the All-Star Game or continuing his march toward the 50-homer milestone -- that will change the Phillies' stance on keeping Schwarber in Philadelphia.
"We need no motivation whatsoever when it comes to Kyle Schwarber," managing partner John Middleton said prior to Friday's game. "He’s great. We thought he was great when we signed him years ago. We've thought he’s been great consistently during the years. There’s nothing Kyle does that surprises us.
"No matter how great he is, we expect that from Kyle. He’s a great person in the dugout, he’s a great person in the clubhouse. We love him, we want to keep him. We don’t need any motivation whatsoever."
But Schwarber isn't the only Phillie set to hit free agency after the season. J.T. Realmuto and Ranger Suárez are also in the final year of their contracts.
There's also the fact Bryce Harper will be 33 by Opening Day next season. Zack Wheeler is 35. Nick Castellanos will be 34. Trea Turner and Aaron Nola are both already 32.
“Some of these players are in the back half of their careers for that window," Middleton acknowledged, "but there are other players who are in the beginning of their window. So you’ve got to keep thinking about that.”
At the forefront of that latter group is someone like Andrew Painter, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the club's top prospect. The Phillies have said all along they were aiming for "July-ish" for the 22-year-old’s debut. However, that may be on hold with Painter putting up a 5.01 ERA in 12 starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. His next start will be Thursday with the IronPigs.
"I’ve always said the whole time that he’s got to be healthy and he’s got to be performing and there’s got to be a spot here," manager Rob Thomson said. "I think he’s going to get to where he’s the normal Andrew Painter. I don’t think he’s quite there yet."
With Painter still in Triple-A and Nola still working his way back from a right ankle sprain, the Phillies' pitching depth isn't quite what it seemed a couple months ago when 23-year-old Mick Abel appeared expendable as a potential trade chip.
While the Phillies will no doubt be active ahead of the July 31 Trade Deadline, Middleton pointed to the 2009-11 teams as a cautionary tale. The Phils added Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez ahead of the 2009 Deadline. They signed Roy Halladay the ensuing offseason and acquired Roy Oswalt at the '10 Deadline. They brought back Lee and added Hunter Pence prior to the '11 season.
"And we still lost," Middleton said.
Of course, that doesn't mean president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski won't be aggressive.
“He’s always aggressive," Middleton said. "He doesn’t have another gear besides aggressive. So yeah, I know he will be.”
The top priority remains the bullpen. The Phillies need at least one high-leverage arm, though Middleton was quick to point out what's been reiterated time and again over the past few weeks -- some of the Phillies' current starting pitching options will be available in the 'pen come October.
"A bullpen in the regular season is an entirely different animal than a bullpen in the postseason," Middleton said. " ... I can see Abel in the bullpen coming out at 97 mph with a really good curveball. Painter might be up here the same way. So you never know."
The Phillies will almost certainly make some moves in the bullpen over the next few weeks. They could also look to upgrade the offense, though one of the biggest improvements in that area could come from within.
Limited by right wrist inflammation that ultimately sidelined him for a month, Harper's 3.3% home-run rate in the first half would be his lowest in a season since 2014. But after racking up six extra-base hits in the final four games of the first half, Harper added three more to open the second half. Along with his first multihomer game of the season, he had a 113.8 mph double -- his hardest-hit ball since July 22, 2024.
“I'm one of the best players in the game,” Harper said. “Just got to keep going, keep doing it.”