Red Sox's Kyle Schwarber Decision Could Be Sign Of Concerning Trend

This one warrants a mulligan, but...

Oct 8, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) watches the flight of the ball a solo home run during the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the NLDS during the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

In a vacuum, not signing Kyle Schwarber was completely excusable for the Boston Red Sox.

The Philadelphia Phillies had incumbency, the ultimate tiebreaker, on their side. On Tuesday, they reportedly finalized a five-year, $150 million contract to bring the three-time All-Star slugger back, and every indication was that they were willing to match whatever offers other teams brought to the table.

Per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the $150 million they were forced to match was first offered by the Baltimore Orioles. So where were the Red Sox? It turns out they were nowhere to be seen.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Red Sox never offered Schwarber

On Tuesday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe revealed that the Red Sox never made an offer to Schwarber. which could mean he wasn't that high on their wish list, or simply saw where the price tags were headed, and bowed out.

Schwarber was, frankly, the hardest free agent for any team not named the Phillies to sign. If refusing to shell out money in this case proves to be an isolated incident for the Red Sox, it will be altogether forgivable.

But on the same night (Tuesday) we heard a report from CBS Sports' Julian McWilliams that the Red Sox were "not in" on Toronto Blue Jays star shortstop Bo Bichette, "unless his market changes."

How does this all bode for the pursuits of Alex Bregman and/or Pete Alonso?

The final clue from Tuesday about the Red Sox's budget for high-end free agents was not a report, but a sentiment from beat reporter Chris Cotillo of MassLive.

"I don't think they're going to spend for two (free-agent) bats in the Alonso/Bregman camp," Cotillo wrote. If there are two major additions, the guess is one FA, one trade. I don't see $60 (million-plus) being added to the payroll from here on."

The Red Sox can still have a very successful offseason if they don't drop $65 million per year on Bregman and Alonso. But the path to a successful offseason almost certainly includes one of those two, so they'd better not be starting a larger trend of trying to underpay for top-of-the-market talent.

More MLB: Red Sox's Rumored $186M Trade Target Would Be Franchise-Altering Pickup