Reds signing Kyle Schwarber chances depend on $60 million variable

Staff Writer

The Cincinnati Reds have a chance to pull off an exciting homecoming.

Kyle Schwarber is from Middletown, Ohio, not far from Cincinnati. And he's a free agent, coming off a 56-home run season with the Philadelphia Phillies.

If there was ever a match, this was it.

The Reds just snuck into the playoffs but were eliminated immediately by the Dodgers. They could use firepower.

Schwarber is in a position where he'll have lots of suitors, and the team with the high bid may stand out.

The Reds aren't often the team with the highest bid, but they can be this time.

ESPN's Jeff Passan laid out in a new article that the Reds have about $75 million committed in contracts right now and have recently gone as high as $135 million for seasons.

MORE: The Dodgers have an $87 million free agency secret weapon

They don't need to give Schwarber $60 million per year. But they do have room to work with.

"Currently the Reds are carrying a projected payroll of around $75 million," Passan writes. "They have run year-end payrolls as high as $135 million. Even if Cincinnati has indicated it doesn't plan to increase payroll much over $116 million this year, there is room for a big swing. And the fact that the Reds have a glaring need for offense and that the best available free agent hitter grew up on the outskirts of the city is screaming for the Reds to throw caution to the wind and supercharge a team with plenty of potential to contend. Will they? Probably not. It's the Reds. But it's too obvious not to try to speak it into existence."

The Reds were nudging at this idea early. During the 2025 season, when the Phillies visited Cincinnati, they had Schwarber catch ceremonial first pitches from his dad and his youth baseball coach, despite Schwarber being a visiting player.

The Reds' hearts want this to happen. Do their checkbooks?

Reds signing Kyle Schwarber chances depend on $60 million variable

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Editorial Team