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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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Sometimes, the look on a player's face tells the full story.
The Philadelphia Phillies' season ended in the most excruciating way imaginable on Thursday. With an error on a soft ground ball back to pitcher Orion Kerkering, the Phillies suffered a 2-1, 11-inning defeat to the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Division Series.
Kyle Schwarber has played in Philadelphia for four seasons, and the Phillies have entered each of those four playoff runs thinking they could win a World Series. Their exits have gotten more dramatic and disappointing every season, and now, Schwarber faces free agency and the prospect of choosing whether to keep chasing the same goal.
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In the aftermath of the crushing defeat, Schwarber wasn't ready to directly address where he wanted to play next season. But his raw emotion, and the way he addressed the people in the Phillies organization, certainly made it hard to imagine he wants to leave anytime soon.
"It doesn't feel good," Schwarber said, per Jason Dumas of WPVI-TV. "You just make a lot of different relationships in the clubhouse, and you never know how it's going to work out, right?"
The uncertainty is killer. Twenty-nine other teams will soon have the opportunity to bid on Schwarber, and the Phillies have to decide how much he's worth to the roster in the context of an already-high payroll and other important free agents like Ranger Suárez and J.T. Realmuto.
"These guys all know how I feel about them," Schwarber said, per Dumas. "I've got a lot of respect for the guys in here, the coaching staff, everyone from top to bottom. This is a premier organization, and a lot of people should feel very lucky, one, that you're playing for a team that is trying to win every single year, and a fan base that cares. And you have ownership that cares, and you have coaches that care, and everyone in the room that cares."
Schwarber is hitting the open market at an ideal time, coming off a career-high 56 home runs and a .928 OPS (fifth-best in Major League Baseball). There will be lots of teams coveting him, even as a designated hitter-only entering his age-33 season.
Still, if the Phillies lose him, it will feel as though they screwed something up, because it's long been clear where Schwarber's heart lies.
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