Kyle Schwarber sends a message to the Philadelphia Phillies front office amid his upcoming free agency, expressing confidence in his ability to play well at an older age.

Only one player from the Cubs' World Series core remains in the MLB as a true star. That's Kyle Schwarber, who is in the midst of a league-leading on-base streak.

Schwarber has evolved into an elite left-on-left hitter by changing his preparation, equipment and, perhaps more than anything, his mind.

Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber has punished left-handed pitching the last two years, leaving hitting coach Kevin Long in awe

Is Kyle Schwarber having the best year of his career? He’s tied for the MLB lead in homers, he’s more than halfway to Ted Williams’ record of 84 straight games reaching base, and he’s top 10 in the majors in OBP. Pretty good way to head into free agency, all told. [ MLB.com]

Schwarber, two homers shy of 300, has always slugged. But he’s become more than that for the Phillies with free agency on the horizon.

There’s someone inside the Philadelphia Phillies organization who’s been helping Kyle Schwarber become a better hitter against left-handed pitchers — and the numbers show it’s working: he’s hitting .304 against them.

Kyle Schwarber homered twice to tie Aaron Judge for the major league lead and extended his on-base streak to 46 games, and Zack Wheeler struck out eight over seven innings as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0.

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Cleveland Guardians in a battle of playoff contenders on Sunday night at Progressive Field. The 3-0 win moved the Philli