Kyle Schwarber signs free agent deal with Nationals
A reunion is not in the cards for Kyle Schwarber and the Cubs — at least not in 2021.
The slugger signed a one-year pact with the Washington Nationals Saturday morning and is set to make $10 million.
The Cubs opted not to tender Schwarber a contract in December, but left the door open for a possibility that he would return to Chicago. Instead, he will head to the nation’s capital to reunite with Starlin Castro, his former teammate as a rookie on the 2015 Cubs.
Schwarber will turn 28 in March and hit 121 home runs with an .816 OPS over his six-year Cubs career. He batted .188 with a .701 OPS in 2020, finishing second on the team with 11 homers.
After the signing with Washington was made official, Schwarber took to Twitter to thank Chicago:
Thank you for the opportunity, all the memories and will always have you guys in my heart! Thank you Chicago! https://t.co/OU3uYWPkV6
— Kyle Schwarber (@kschwarb12) January 9, 2021
Fans will always remember him for his heroics in the 2015 playoffs and his incredible recovery from a devastating knee injury in 2016 to spark the offense in the World Series.
“He’s always going to be a Cubs legend,” Jed Hoyer said in December. “There’s no question about that, as he should be.”