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Kyle Schwarber, Red Sox target, makes free agency decision to jumpstart market
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- Kyle Schwarber, Red Sox target, makes free agency decision to jumpstart market
ORLANDO — The Kyle Schwarber sweepstakes have ended, marking the first major free agent development of the Winter Meetings.
The power-hitting slugger agreed to a five-year, $150 million deal to remain with the Phillies , ESPN's Jeff Passan reported . The Red Sox were known to be interested in Schwarber, who helped them reach the ALCS in 2021 and would have filled their t op remaining need of a middle-of-the-bat power hitter .
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Philadelphia was always the favorite to sign Schwarber; it was a matter of another team could push his market to a point where Philadelphia would let him walk. The Red Sox were involved in trying to sign him, along with clubs like the Mets , Orioles , Phillies and Reds. As the Winter Meetings opened Monday, agents and executives believed Schwarber was nearing a decision that could jumpstart the market for big bats, which includes unsigned sluggers like Alex Bregman , Pete Alonso and Bo Bichette .
Schwarber spent the last four seasons in Philadelphia before becoming a free agent this winter. In 2025, he hit .240 with a league-leading 56 home runs and 132 RBIs while finishing second to Shohei Ohtani in the National League MVP race. Schwarber's .928 OPS was his highest since 2021, which he split between Washington and Boston .
Schwarber played 41 games for Boston in 2021 after he was traded by the Washington Nationals . He quickly became a fan favorite, but left that winter in free agency to join the Phillies. As part of an upstart Red Sox club that reached Game 6 of the ALCS, Schwarber hit .291 with seven homers, 10 doubles, 18 RBIs and a .957 OPS in the regular season before adding three more blasts in the playoffs. With J.D. Martinez blocking the DH spot in Boston, the Red Sox only pursued Schwarber tepidly that winter and he ended up signing a four-year, $79 million deal in March 2022.
With Schwarber off the board, other Red Sox targets — like Alonso, Bregman, Bichette and Arizona 's Ketel Marte , a top trade candidate — might come into focus more clearly. Alonso is expected at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando on Tuesday to meet with teams , including — possibly — the Red Sox. On Monday, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow reiterated that the focus was adding a big bat that could hit home runs .
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"We've clearly added to the rotation... We haven't addressed some of the position player needs that we have," Breslow said. "We still are going to prioritize someone who can hit in the middle of the order and kind of change the overall outlook of the offense.
"Home runs are a foolproof way to put runs on the board," he added. "Typically, that type of profile comes with a trade-off, most often contact ability, which is another area that we feel like we need to improve the identity of the offense."
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