The Mets suffered a collapse for the ages in the second half of the season. Having signed Juan Soto on a jaw-dropping 15-year $765 million deal in the offseason, the Mets finished one win short of the playoffs after being 21 games above .500 in June. Despite missing out on the postseason, the Mets have confirmed that manager Carlos Mendoza will lead the team next season as well, as reported by The Athletic. So where will the change take place? The obvious answer: The Roster. And one of the big moves that the Mets are touted to make is luring in the Phillies’ star slugger: Kyle Schwaber.

As one scout laid it out, Kyle Schwarber would solve a lot of their problems, primarily referring to Pete Alonso’s expected departure on free agency. Alonso is the Mets’ home run king, who has 264 career homers to his name. So, naturally, his bat plays a significant role in the Mets’ offense. However, his defense has been troublesome as of late. The solution?

According to John Harper of SNY, the Mets should raid the Phillies’ clubhouse for slugger Kyle Schwarber, valued at a whopping $100 million. “I don’t know if it’s possible, but if Steve Cohen wants to flex again this winter, he should pay whatever it would take to get Schwarber to leave the Phillies,” SNY tweeted, as cited by Harper.

Schwarber has hit 56 home runs this season and also leads the league with 132 RBI. He fits well for the Mets’ needs because, during the end-of-season press conference, David Stearns revealed that the team needs to focus on better run prevention next season. On the other hand, Alonso has made it clear that he wants to stay at first base. He doesn’t want to move into the DH role, and that’s where Schwarber can help the Mets.

However, Phillies owner John Middleton has time and again proclaimed his desire to keep Schwarber in Philadelphia. “He’s a wonderful person, as well as a wonderful player. So, we wanna keep him. And we will do everything we can to keep him,” Middleton told Starkville in July.

Kyle Schwarber’s influence also drew comparisons with a Yankees legend.

Phillies coach compared Kyle Schwarber to a former Yankees star

The Phillies’ hitting coach, Kevin Long, revealed that he was reminded of former New York Yankees legend Alex Rodriguez after he saw Schwarber’s preparation throughout this season. Interestingly, Long even coached Rodriguez during his stint with the Yankees.

“He’s like A-Rod. A-Rod was so meticulous. He’d watch replays of every game. He’d want to dissect his at-bats from the previous night. If there was any kind of in-game adjustment he needed to make, he wanted that information. Kyle’s like that. A-Rod’s routine was almost bulletproof. Kyle’s is very, very similar. He’s very detailed. He wants to know the whys. He wants to know what he should be doing better.” Long stated.

Rodriguez was named MVP three times over his 22-year career. He had hit 696 home runs and 2,086 RBIs. If Schwarber recorded such numbers, he would find himself amongst the best power hitters in the history of Major League Baseball. For now, besides personal accolades, Schwarber is primarily focused on getting the Phillies to the World Series.