Red Sox's Kyle Schwarber Shame Worsened By Slugger's Latest Quote

And there's Caleb Durbin in the background...

May 12, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) hits a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Not signing a marquee free agent is one thing, but putting in a lackluster effort is cause for second-guessing.

Especially when you're the Boston Red Sox and that free agent is Kyle Schwarber.

On Tuesday, Schwarber came back to Fenway Park for the second time as an opponent after his Red Sox tenure in 2021, and for the first time since he signed a new five-year, $150 million contract to remain with the Philadelphia Phillies. He wasted no time showing the Red Sox what they'd missed out on, and he dropped a quote earlier in the day that painted Boston in a flat-out embarrassing light.

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Red Sox had... how many calls with Schwarber?

May 12, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) hits a home run against the Boston Red Sox in the first inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Schwarber homered in the first inning against Red Sox opener Jovani Morán, his major league-leading 17th blast of the season and sixth in his last five games. That was a tough moment for Boston in a 2-1 loss, but far tougher was Schwarber's pregame quote about his free agency dealings with the Red Sox this past offseason.

“We had the phone call, the Zoom, whatever it is,” said Schwarber, via Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. “There was a conversation. (The Red Sox’s pursuit) kind of just started and ended with the conversation.”

Speier also noted that Schwarber upped his OPS at Fenway to 1.137 after Tuesday's game, putting him fifth all-time among batters with at least 100 plate appearances at the park.

Of course, anything the Red Sox failed to achieve this offseason was bound to look worse now that they've gone 17-24 to start the season than it did in the moment. And who's to say if the Red Sox had come close to the Phillies' offer that Philadelphia wouldn't have simply upped the bidding?

But knowing that Boston let Alex Bregman walk, paid Schwarber's former teammate Ranger Suárez $130 million, and settled for Caleb Durbin as the second-biggest offensive addition of the offseason (he's batting .169, by the way), it's hard to stomach just how much damage Schwarber is doing.

Maybe fighting harder to sign Schwarber would have produced the same result. But knowing that the front office hardly tried to bring in someone who would make an obvious, major impact on the offense is somewhat sickening.