The Boston Red Sox could've re-signed Kyle Schwarber.
They had traded for him at the 2021 trade deadline from the Washington Nationals. He had a.957 OPS for Boston in 41 games. He was just about to enter his age-29 season.
Instead, Boston let him walk.
Schwarber signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, for whom he hit 187 home runs in four seasons, including 56 in 2025.
"The Boston Red Sox are still kicking themselves for letting him go after 2021," ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote on Tuesday.
They have a chance to make up for that now.
Schwarber is a free agent, and he won't be without his suitors. Probably half the teams in baseball may kick the can on signing one of the best hitters in the sport.
There's no defensive value to be had out of Schwarber, who is just a DH at this point. But his plate discipline and power make him worth a five-year deal and a nine-figure total salary.
"The contract offers are likely to bump Schwarber's average annual value to more than $30 million a year, and the winning team won't be getting a one-dimensional player. Schwarber has among the best plate discipline in the game, and beyond that, he has evolved tremendously," Passan writes. "Left-handed relief pitchers used to carve him up. Coming into 2025, in 706 career plate appearances against them, he had hit 20 home runs with a.664 OPS. In 143 plate appearances against lefty relievers this past season, Schwarber whacked 14 homers -- the most in a single season by a hitter from either side -- with a 1.147 OPS."
He certainly would be a statement signing by the Red Sox, especially considering there's speculation that the division rival Blue Jays could be in on him, too.
It's a chance for Boston to make up for its error four years ago. Will they pony up the money to do so?
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