As of late, it started appearing as if Boston would have nowhere to turn to after Alex Bregman’s opt-out. Both his right-handed bat and his defense have been huge assets for the Red Sox at Fenway Park. His agent, Scott Boras, mentioned recently that he and Bregman are going to “wait until the off-season” to come to a conclusion. While he’s still unsure about re-signing with Boston, the Red Sox have already started eyeing the Philadelphia Phillies and the league’s superstar DH who’ll be attached to a $100 million price tag at the upcoming free agency window.

Right now, Spotrac projects Kyle Schwarber for a four-year, $100.5 million contract. While Shohei Ohtani is already a three-time MVP, this season Schwarber is making a stronger case. He’s leading the National League with 50 home runs.

Clearly the bidding war will be intense. Apparently, the Red Sox still owe Masataka Yoshida exactly $37.2 million across the next two years. However, since he only plays designated hitter and has struggled visibly with an injury-filled season, Boston could trade him.

They could ship him off at a low price and with Bregman inevitably expected to opt out, the club could use that money to bring in Schwarber. It’ll strengthen their entire offense and would also leave room for their rising talents to grow.

But, in the Red Sox’s pursuit of Schwarber, they could ship Bregman to Philadelphia. Largely because the Phillies are facing a dilemma with JT Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, and Max Kepler—all set to become free agents. Plus, it’s been said that they’re expected to be reluctant to spend over $100 million on Schwarber’s extension.

Letting him go would give them much-needed flexibility at DH for an aging roster. With that money, they could bring in third baseman Alex Bregman. They’ve shopped Alec Bohm before; that means they are willing to upgrade their hot corner. Still, it will be tough for the club to let go of Schwarber, especially after how he has played this season.

Phillies’s president opens up about Kyle Schwarber’s Free Agency

Right now, Kyle Schwarber is right on track to finish among the top three in the MVP race. This winter could be challenging for the Phillies, letting go of their beloved DH to another club. The Phillies’ president of baseball operations had tried to keep Schwarber last winter, but that didn’t go as hoped.

This time, he’s almost vowing to keep the three-time All-Star. Dombrowski opened up about it while speaking with Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Apparently, he’s all in to keep him in Philadelphia.

“We want to retain him now, and we wanted to retain him then,” he admitted. According to Heyman, Dombrowski believed that Schwarber was right to turn down 2024’s contract offers. An anonymous one from the Phillies organization also opened up to Heyman and revealed that the Phillies will do all they can to keep their star.

It makes sense; his decorated numbers would make it hard for any club to trade him off. Schwarber has not missed any of the Phillies’ 137 games this season. He has recorded a career-best .929 OPS while leading the league with 123 RBIs.

He signed for $79 million for four years in 2022 and it’ll require a lot more than that to retain him. Well, Schwarber himself has shown interest time and again in staying back in Philadelphia. So it could all turn around in the end if he changes his mind.