The Cincinnati Reds have the young pitching.
But to improve on their positioning as the NL's third and final Wild Card team in 2025, they need a big bat.
Fittingly, one free agent slugger grew up less than an hour from Cincinnati.
That's Kyle Schwarber, and the hometown narrative will keep coming up until he signs a contract somewhere, whether to return to Philadelphia, to join the Reds or to be somewhere else altogether.
ESPN's David Schoenfield wrote on Monday that the Reds need to "roll out the red carpet" for Schwarber, who he projects to get a four-year, $128 million contract.
Schwarber is coming off a season in which he hit a career-high 56 homers for the Phillies. He's from Middletown, Ohio, and the Reds actually had Schwarber catch ceremonial first pitches from his dad and one of his youth coaches while he was a visiting player in Cincinnati this season. So they're already trying the red carpet routine.
"Schwarber is the perfect fit for Cincinnati," Schoenfield writes. "But a player who just hit 56 home runs and finished second in the National League MVP voting is the perfect fit for most teams, particularly the one that employed him the past four seasons: the Phillies. Schwarber's projected contract -- four years, $128 million -- is more affordable for the Reds than (Kyle) Tucker's, and Schwarber is from Ohio. Though the geographic tie-in is usually overrated, maybe the Reds can use that to sell Schwarber -- along with their stellar young rotation that could keep them in playoff contention for the life of that four-year contract (while the aging Phillies are maybe exiting their window to win)."
The Reds don't often land players like Schwarber in free agency. If they pull this deal off, it's a true statement of intent.
It'd also be a fun tie-in locally, and it'd give Cincinnati fans a reason to get really excited about their 2026 team.
Schoenfield is right in that the Reds certainly should be doing what they can to land Schwarber.
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