Kyle Schwarber joins Bryce Harper in Home Run Derby, says a finals rematch would be ‘awesome’

The addition of Schwarber sets the stage for a potential rematch of the 2018 final against Harper. Only this time, they are teammates with the Phillies.

Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber leads baseball with 32 home runs.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Lochlahn March

Published July 10, 2026, 1:11 p.m. ET

DETROIT — The Phillies haven’t had a Home Run Derby champion since 2006, when Ryan Howard blasted 23 total to take the crown.

This year, at Monday’s competition at Citizens Bank Park, they will have double the chance. Because for the first time in the 41-year history of the Derby, the Phillies have a pair of teammates competing against each other. Kyle Schwarber announced Friday that he would officially be joining Bryce Harper in the event.

“I just wanted to make sure pretty much getting through that series in Cincinnati, make sure everything was good healthwise, and everything’s been trending the right way. So that’s when we pretty much made a decision to do it,” Schwarber said.

Schwarber and Harper have competed in the same Derby before in 2018, although they were representing different teams. With Harper in his final year with the Nationals and Schwarber playing with the Cubs, the future teammates found themselves in the final round together in Washington D.C. Harper bashed 19 homers to narrowly best Schwarber’s 18.

Schwarber hopes that this year ends with another rematch.

“I think it would be awesome, especially in Philadelphia, where our fans obviously are going to get the opportunity to really show out what they’re capable of and what we’ve seen for years and years of just pure electricity,” he said. “So I think it would be a pretty cool ending there if that could happen. But we’ll see what happens.”

Schwarber hit his league-leading 32nd home run on Wednesday against the Reds, which broke Mike Schmidt’s franchise record for most before the All-Star break.

The fact that Harper has already won the Derby made him reluctant to compete again, but he said that he wanted to do it for Phillies fans. He officially announced his participation on Thursday night.

“I wasn’t really looking forward to it, to tell you the truth,” Harper said. “I didn’t really want to do it, but being able to do it for the fans, and doing it at home kind of took me to the point where I wanted to do it.”

Another thing initially holding Harper back was not having someone to throw to him. In 2018, Harper’s father pitched to him, but he needed to find someone else this year since his father hasn’t thrown in a while. He settled on Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel, who crossed paths with Harper as a coach on the U.S. World Baseball Classic team this year.

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Ebel happened to play a role in Schwarber’s All-Star Game MVP-winning performance last year. While he didn’t participate in the 2025 Derby, Schwarber still launched the most memorable home runs of the week. In the first-ever “swing off” to break the ninth-inning tie between the National League and American League in the All-Star Game, Schwarber hit three homers on three swings with Ebel pitching to him.

Phillies assistant hitting coach Rafael Pena will pitch to Schwarber on Monday.

The format of the Derby will look different compared to the last time Harper and Schwarber participated in 2018 and 2022, respectively. Rather than rounds based on timers, each participant will have a set number of swings. In Round 1, the maximum is 20 swings, while Round 2 and the final round will have 15 swings each.

Harper isn’t a fan of the new rules.

“The clock, I really liked. I know a lot of guys didn’t like it because they got tired or got worn down from it. I didn’t see it that way,” he said. “I think the clock on it kind of brings that theater part to it.”

He also presented an idea to MLB where in the bonus round, the players would be able to use aluminum bats to see how far they could hit. (The children who traditionally shag balls in the outfield during the Derby would have to be removed for that part, of course.) The league declined.

“Seeing a ball go way up into the third deck or over Ashburn Alley completely or off a scoreboard, I think would have got a lot of eyes on it in a way that they’ve never had, besides the steroid era,” Harper said. “People want to see that kind of homer, right? You want to see Sammy Sosa putting it through the windows in Milwaukee, and people putting it over the wall in Fenway, hitting the Citgo sign or whatever it was. I think fans want to see that, so I think it’d have been pretty cool to have that opportunity.”

But even if aluminum bats won’t be involved, the Derby this season will involve Harper and Schwarber competing against Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone, and Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras.

As for who the hometown crowd will back?

“They’d root for both of us,” Schwarber said. “I think they’d definitely root for both of us. I think it’d be just a straight cheer factory, so it wouldn’t be anyone against anyone, so I think it’d be pretty cool.”

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Tony Gwynn Jr. is a former major league outfielder and son of late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Over the last two years, he got to know new Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez, whose contact skills at the plate often draw comparisons to Gwynn. Tony Jr. joined Phillies Extra to discuss his father, Arraez, and the bonds that connect them. Watch here.

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Lochlahn March

I cover the Philadelphia Phillies.

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