The Cincinnati Reds were in on Kyle Schwarber.
But in the end, the slugger signed to return to the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Reds missed out on the guy who grew up not far away in Middletown, Ohio.
According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Reds offered five years and $125 million, which ended up $5 million per year less than the Phillies ended up signing Schwarber for (5/$125M).
That's not the most interesting piece of information shard by Rosenthal, though.
This sentence is:
"The Reds are not expected to pursue other expensive free agents. Their offer to Schwarber, a native of Middletown, Ohio, about 35 miles north of Cincinnati, was tied to their belief that his addition would help drive ticket sales."
Ouch.
MORE: Poetic paragraph reveals Cody Bellinger's free agent landing spots
Another way to not help ticket sales is to make it clear that you don't actually want to spend money to improve the team.
The Reds felt Schwarber was worth $25 million per year.
That money couldn't go elsewhere?
Sure, Schwarber would've been the biggest pull out of free agency. But he's not the only useful player.
This Reds team has a lot of pitching but could definitely use more thump in the lineup. Schwarber would've been that, but there are other options, too.
Sounds like the Reds might be closing up shop instead, though.
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- What the Kyle Schwarber signing means for the Pittsburgh Pirates