Despite obvious fit, Cubs miss out as Kyle Schwarber joins the Phillies

SEIYAAAAAA SUZUUU— ah man, the Phillies landed Kyle Schwarber… How great it would have been to land both Schwarber and Seiya Suzuki before most of us even finished our first cup of coffee? Unfortunately, the former Chicago Cubs slugger somewhat soured the Suzuki news by inking a four-year deal in the $80 million range with the Philadelphia Phillies.

With the designated hitter coming to the National League, Schwarber slots in to the mix in Philly alongside the likes of Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto. Personally, I think Philadelphia is still lacking in the pitching department, but there shouldn’t be any shortage of offense.

The signing will hopefully help the Phillies stay competitive in the NL East, where new Mets owner Steve Cohen has shown absolutely no hesitation when it comes to blowing past the various luxury tax thresholds as he looks to bring a World Series back to Queens for the first time since 1986 and the Braves look to defend their title in 2022.

It would have been nice too to see Suzuki and Schwarber batting back-to-back in the Cubs’ lineup, but after a breakout season that came on the heels of Chicago non-tendering him in a blatant cost-cutting move, the slugging outfielder will look to make his presence felt with his third team in two years.

Cubs miss out on a badly-needed left-handed bat in Kyle Schwarber

That is exactly the type of contract I was hoping the Cubs would put in front of Schwarber But alas, Chicago still has plenty to be excited about with key additions of Suzuki and Marcus Stroman. There’s still plenty of room for improvement, to be sure, but those are two key additions for the team coming off last summer’s sell-off. Hopefully, the Cubs look to continue to bolster the roster for this season and actually try to compete a little, contrary to what most fans seem to expect.

Schwarber had his share of memorable moments during his time in the Windy City: from a scoreboard-topping home run in the postseason to an improbable World Series comeback (and too many other moments to count in the years that followed) – and they won’t be soon forgotten.

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But with Schwarber headed to Philly, Javier Baez in Detroit, Anthony Rizzo re-upping with the Yankees and teams closing in on Kris Bryant, it’s time to accept that the 2016 core is gone for good.