Phillies remain committed to keeping Schwarber and his homers with the team beyond 2025

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber's deep shots — from Philadelphia to the All-Star Game — often end up going, going, gone.

The Phillies aren't ready to say goodbye to their star slugger quite yet as Schwarber's four-year, $79-million contract expires at the end of the season.

Fresh off winning All-Star Game MVP honors after he hit three homers in the game's first-ever swing-off, Schwarber and his status for 2026 — when Philadelphia will host the game — remain a pressing need for the Phillies.

“We love him. We want to keep him,” Phillies manager partner John Middleton said ahead of Friday’s 6-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in the series-opening game.

In the All-Star Game in Atlanta on Tuesday night, Schwarber homered on all three of his swings, going down to his left knee on the final one, to give the National League a 4-3, swing-off win after a 6-6 tie through nine innings.

Schwarber entered the second half of the season with 30 homers and 69 RBIs for NL East-leading Philadelphia. He hit a solo shot in the first inning Friday night.

Schwarber led the NL with 46 homers in his first season with the Phillies and followed with 47 in 2023 and 38 a year ago. Often hitting from the leadoff spot until this season, Schwarber drove in 104 runs each of the last two seasons.

"We need no motivation whatsoever when it comes to Kyle Schwarber,” Middleton said. “He's great. We thought he was great when we signed him years ago. We thought he was great consistently through 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."

The 32-year-old Schwarber should command well beyond the $79 million he signed for ahead of the 2022 season. Schwarber won a World Series with the Cubs in 2016. He also played in Washington and Boston but has seemed to find a home in Philadelphia where his mammoth homers — dubbed Schwarbombs — have made him arguably the most popular Phillies star.

Schwarber said during the All-Star break that he wanted to keep the focus on helping the Phillies win their first World Series since 2008.

“We had conversations in the spring and obviously they didn't progress,” he said. “We just kind of tabled them aside and wanted to focus on the season. Obviously, there's interest on my side. I know there's going to be interest on their side there coming up at the end of the year. We're going to see where that takes us. If that's us striking up a deal, that's us striking up a deal.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber reacts after striking out against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber walks to the dugout after striking out against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber celebrates after winning the tiebreaker at the MLB baseball All-Star game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber reacts after hitting a home run against Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 18, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber hits a home run against Los Angeles Angels pitcher Ryan Zeferjahn during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, July 18, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber reacts after striking out against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Monday, July 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber walks to the dugout after striking out against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber celebrates after winning the tiebreaker at the MLB baseball All-Star game between the American League and National League, Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

PARIS (AP) — A Paris court is to rule on Monday in a case involving 10 people accused of cyberbullying French first lady Brigitte Macron by spreading false online claims about her gender and sexuality, allegations her daughter said damaged her health and family life.

The defendants, eight men and two women aged 41 to 60, are accused of posting “numerous malicious comments” falsely claiming that President Emmanuel Macron ’s wife was born a man and linking the 24-year age gap with her husband to pedophilia. Some of the posts were viewed tens of thousands of times.

Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October.

Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about what she described as the “deterioration” of her mother’s life since the online harassment intensified. “She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her,” Auzière told the court. She said the impact has extended to the entire family, including Macron’s grandchildren.

Defendant Delphine Jegousse, 51, who is known as Amandine Roy and describes herself as a medium and an author, is considered as having played a major role in spreading the rumor after she released a four-hour video on her YouTube channel in 2021.

The X account of Aurélien Poirson-Atlan, 41, known as Zoé Sagan on social media, was suspended in 2024 after his name was cited in several judicial investigations.

Other defendants include an elected official, a teacher and a computer scientist. Several told the court their comments were intended as humor or satire and said they did not understand why they were being prosecuted. They face up to two years in prison if convicted.

The case follows years of conspiracy theories falsely alleging that Brigitte Macron was born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually the name of her brother. The Macrons have also filed a defamation suit in the United States against conservative influencer Candace Owens.

The Macrons, who have been married since 2007, first met at the high school where he was a student and she was a teacher. Brigitte Macron, 24 years her husband’s senior, was then called Brigitte Auzière, a married mother of three.

Emmanuel Macron, 48, has been France’s president since 2017.

FILE - French President's wife Brigitte Macron arrives ahead of the ceremony outside "La Belle Equipe" bar, Thursday Nov. 13, 2025 in Paris as part of ceremonies marking the 10th anniversary of terrorist attacks. (Ludovic Marin, Pool photo via AP, File)