The 2025 MLB Winter Meetings are open for business in Orlando, Fla. and the Boston Red Sox, like most everyone else, are waiting for the first free agency domino to fall.
“When does the Kyle Schwarber dam break? Several teams’ fortunes — from Philadelphia to Cincinnati to Pittsburgh to Boston to Baltimore to the New York Mets — depend on where Schwarber goes,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. “The belief among teams is that it will take five years to secure the 32-year-old, and once that happens — perhaps sometime during the meetings — teams will start pivoting, and the action will pick up demonstrably.”
“The bidding for the likes of (Pete) Alonso and Kyle Schwarber has yet to even get underway, but it’s easy to anticipate those deals spiraling ever upward with the interest from a handful of big market teams (Phillies, Mets and others) all positioning themselves for one of the sluggers,” Masslive.com’s Sean McAdam writes.
“(Kyle) Tucker isn’t close to done yet. Cody Bellinger has a healthy market but is biding his time. Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette are world-class infielders with ample, moneyed suitors. Pete Alonso‘s signing could go down after Schwarber,” Passan adds.
“There is a general sense that Tucker and Schwarber need to sign, then Alonso and Bellinger become more marketable to the teams that miss out, with Baltimore and Boston standing out as teams that could come after Alonso’s bat,” the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports.
“The worst-case scenario for Philadelphia is that negotiations with Schwarber drag into 2026 as the Phillies’ Plans B, C and D fall off the board,” MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki says. “If somebody else steps up and signs Schwarber (this) week, at least the Phillies will have options to replace him, like Alex Bregman and Bo Bichette.”
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The Schwarber market seems to be heating up, with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reporting the Pittsburgh Pirates have made the three-time All-Star a four-year contract offer.
According to Rosenthal, “the offer almost certainly is for more than $100 million.”
“The Pirates remain a long shot to sign Schwarber, whose most likely landing spot remains his previous team, the Philadelphia Phillies,” Rosenthal adds. “The Boston Red Sox are among the other big-market clubs with known interest in him.
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“The Cincinnati Reds, Schwarber’s hometown team, also are making a push,” Rosenthal says.
“The competition for Schwarber, who turns 33 in March, could push the Phillies to give him a fifth guaranteed year,” Rosenthal notes.
“He is expected to make his decision within the next two weeks,” Rosenthal concludes.
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Schwarber was runner-up for the 2025 National League MVP Award after lead the NL with a career-high 56 home runs this season.
