The Boston Red Sox had a solid season by most accounts, returning to the playoffs for the first time since the 2021 season and developing some wonderful talent along the way. Rookie Roman Anthony was demonstrating his superstar potential until early September when he suffered an oblique injury that forced him to miss the final weeks of the season as well as the Wild Card series against the New York Yankees.

If the Red Sox had remained injury-free they might have advanced out of the Wild Card round, but they didn’t and the lack of overall talent cost them dearly. The Red Sox simply did not have the hitting — especially when it comes to power — to defeat the best teams in the American League.

The Red Sox face a challenging offseason if they want to continue to get there. Alex Bregman was a sharp free agent add last season, but he has opted out of his 3-year, $120 million contract. The Red Sox may return to the battle and attempt to bring back the star 3rd baseman. Even if they bring him back, that won’t be enough to get them over the top in the American League.

They need to reach back into their recent past and bring back one of the game’s great sluggers. Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies will be a free agent after the World Series. He would be a sensational designated hitter for manager Alex Cora.

Schwarber will attract attention from several teams and the Phillies will want to retain him. He is coming off a monster year that saw him play in all 162 games with the Phillies. He blasted 56 home runs and drove in 132 runs while slashing .240/.365/.563. Schwarber does strike out a lot — he fanned 197 times — but he also walked 108 times.

Schwarber has proven himself time after time

There’s certainly a lot more to the 32-year-old slugger than one great season. He has been on a roll for the last four years. He blasted 46 home runs for the Phillies in 2022, his first year with the team. Since then he has had seasons with 47 homers in 2023 and he followed that with 38 long balls in 2024. He has driven in more than 100 runs in each of the last three seasons.

Prior to joining the Phillies, he played the first six years of his career with Chicago Cubs. He played a key role in their 2016 World Series victory over the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians). After that, he split the 2021 season between the Washington Nationals and Red Sox. He played just 41 games with Boston, but he was a perfect fit for the team.

He was loved by the fan base and his teammates.

The 5-11, 230-pound slugger  slashed .291/.435/.522 in his brief time with the Red Sox and hit 7 home runs and knocked in 18 runs. Schwarber enjoyed playing at Fenway Park.

Schwarber has clearly proven quite a bit with the Phillies and he has shown he is one of the game’s greatest sluggers along with Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh. He deserves perhaps the best contract any designated hitter has ever received. The Red Sox would be wise to do everything they could to sign him. He could fill the same role that J.D. Martinez did for the team when they won their last World Series title in 2018.

Multiple teams are likely to pursue Schwarber

The Phillies are first and foremost on that list. There’s little doubt they want to bring him back and he clearly loves hitting in Citizens Bank Park. It will not be easy for the Red Sox or any other team to pry him away.

It seems likely that the Cubs could once again be in the market for their former star. They had a solid year in making the playoffs and defeating the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round, but they could have used Schwarber’s power in the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. They lost that series in five games.

The Brewers had a brilliant regular season but they are on the verge of getting eliminated by the Dodgers in NLCS. They could use a star power hitter like Schwarber but it seems unlikely that they will give him the kind of contract that would entice him to sign with the team

The likely going rate is $120 million for a four-year deal. That kind of contract is likely to get Schwarber’s attention.

The Phillies know that and would likely meet that price. The Red Sox know they have to better that price. Owner John Henry would likely have to pony up a four-year, $130 million offer.

Those that follow the Red Sox know that Henry would not enjoy paying out on that kind of contract. But if he wants the team to win another World Series title in the future, that’s what it is likely to cost him.