Home run power is arguably the No. 1 need for the Boston Red Sox at this point in the offseason, and there’s one free agent who stands out above the rest in that regard.
That free agent, of course, is designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, who blasted 56 home runs in the final season of a four-year, $79 million contract he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies following his half-season in Boston in 2021.
Could the Red Sox right their wrong from four years ago and find a way to lure Schwarber back to Boston, even with the Phillies quite obviously having a strong interest in a new contract for the slugger?
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Insider believes Red Sox in on Schwarber
Robert Murray, a national reporter for FanSided, said Wednesday on his podcast, “The Baseball Insiders,” that he believes Boston remains in the mix for Schwarber and is a “great fit” worth watching. He went on to say, however, that in his mind, the Phillies are still the favorites.
“I mentioned at the GM meetings that people were talking about it around the league as a team to watch here. I still feel that way. Schwarber is a great fit in Boston. Having him play year-round at Fenway would be incredible.
“He’s got deep ties to the organization. Cora was his manager there with Boston… I think that’s a really good fit for Schwarber and for Boston. I think that’s one to watch.”
Schwarber’s 41 regular-season games with the Red Sox resulted in a .957 OPS, seven home runs, and 18 RBIs, and he added three more home runs in that year’s playoff run. He’s since hit 40-plus home runs in three of his four years with the Phillies (38 in the other), while the Red Sox haven’t had a 40-homer bat since J.D. Martinez in 2018.
It’s just hard to know how realistic it truly is for the Red Sox to bring Schwarber back when the Phillies would seem to have the tiebreaker if offers are equal. And as Boston fans well know, they don’t give prizes for finishing as the runner-up in a star’s free-agent sweepstakes.
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