Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer needs to pivot now that Kyle Schwarber re-signed with the Phillies. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
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One potential slugger – and a reunion candidate – is off the board for the Boston Red Sox. Many in the Back Bay had hoped that Kyle Schwarber might bring his mighty bat back to the Fens after his half season there in 2021. As a reminder, Schwarber came to the Red Sox from Washington at the trade deadline that year in return for right-handed pitcher Aldo Ramirez. When the season ended, Boston did not re-sign the slugger, and he inked a four-year, $79 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. This, despite the fact that he slashed .291/.435/.522 in 41 games for a 155 OPS+.
But any chance of a reunion was thwarted today when Jeff Passan of ESPN (and others) revealed that Schwarber elected another reunion, returning to the Phillies, on a five-year, $150 million deal. Schwarber had many suitors – in addition to Boston, reporting had the Reds, Mets, Orioles, and Pirates (who apparently made an offer of at least $100 million) – for his services as a designated hitter. The slugger will be 38 years old when his new deal expires in 2030.
With Schwarber off the board, the list of impact bats for the Red Sox to chase is getting smaller. Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger are both outfielders (although Bellinger could slot in at first base), where the Red Sox have an abundance (and just traded some of that surplus). Bo Bichette remains an option, but he doesn’t exactly fit the slugger mold (his career-high home run total is 29 back in 2021; he hit 18 last year). But he is a reasonable comp to Alex Bregman (career high of 41 in 2019, and also just 18 last season), who the club would gladly welcome back.
One name that repeatedly comes up is former (and future?) Mets first baseman Pete Alonso. He is New York’s all-time home run leader, but became a free agent after the World Series. Early reports had him seeking a seven-year deal, but considering he recently turned 31, and is somewhat shaky defensively, it is hard to see him getting a contract of that duration. At the MLB Winter Meetings today, per NESN, agent Scott Boras said about Alonso potentially playing in Boston:
Whether or not chief baseball officer Craig Breslow steps up to the type of numbers that the player and agent want/expect (for what it is worth, MLB Trade Rumors predicted four years, $110 million) is an open question, and one that fans in both Boston and in Queens eagerly await an answer to.
The team could look to the Far East, at one of the two Japanese position players posted for this season: Munetaka Murakami, a first baseman/third baseman who hit 56 homers in 2022, an NPB single-season record for Japanese-born players; and/or Kazuma Okamoto, also a first baseman/third baseman, a six-time All-Star, who had six straight seasons of at least 30 home runs, and won a Gold Glove at first. Either player could fit into a Red Sox lineup that needs an everyday third baseman and potentially a first baseman, depending on how well and quickly Triston Casas recovers from his patellar tendon rupture suffered last May.
Ken Rosenthal reported that there has been talk of a blockbuster-type trade to pry second baseman Ketel Marte out of Arizona. And Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reported Tuesday that the Red Sox have had conversations “with and about” Eugenio Suárez.
The Winter Meetings wrap up in rainy Orlando tomorrow, so much of the above may be rendered moot in the coming hours. Or the Hot Stove will remain lit for the coming weeks as the Red Sox and those they covet continue conversations. One thing is for sure, Boston is not yet done making moves nor spending money.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danfreedman/2025/12/09/with-kyle-schwarber-off-the-board-the-red-sox-pivot-to-other-players/
