This offseason is already wild. The hot stove is scorching, and we are not even deep into November. We have already seen a flurry of moves. However, the biggest among them is that Alex Bregman opted out of his Boston contract, leaving a two-year, $80 million deal on the table. It ripped the heart out of the offense, which was already struggling with Bregman.  But Boston might have a more subtle way to replace that power.

MLB insider Robert Murray reported from the MLB General Managers Meetings. “Everyone that I’m talking to here believes that the Red Sox are going to be a big player for Schwarber this offseason, and that is absolutely a team to watch for him,” Murray said. “Though a reunion with the Philadelphia Phillies is very possible.” The “Kyle from Waltham” reunion sounds fascinating, right? But it won’t be that easy.

Coming off an MVP-caliber “platform year” in Philadelphia, mashing league-leading 56 home runs and driving in 132 RBIs, Kyle Schwarber is hitting free agency at his absolute peak. It dwarfs his previous four-year, $79 million deal, and Spotrac estimates reach $100M for his next AAV.

The Phillies are not just letting him walk, either. “We’d love to have him (back). Of course,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “What he did for us is phenomenal. Not only a great performer, but a good person. Good person in the clubhouse, all of that. So we’d love to have that.”

Then what is the only real possibility for Boston? The opening for the Red Sox exists because of another, younger Kyle. The Phillies could be forced to pivot to Kyle Tucker. Rival executives speculate Philly is “worth watching in the Tucker sweepstakes.”

Tucker is the number one free agent of this offseason and is expected to command the highest contract.

“Schwarber remains an important part of that[Phillies] lineup,” CBS Sports expert R.J. Anderson explained. “Unless they get involved in the Tucker or Bregman sweepstakes, I don’t see how they manage to… improve their lineup while losing Schwarber elsewhere.” That is how the reunion can happen.

So, what is the current situation in Philadelphia?

They are facing a serious “number crunch.” They just extended the $22.025 million qualifying offer (QO) to Schwarber. Schwarber wants to secure a large, multi-year deal. But he is not their only problem. They also gave a QO to other free agents like pitcher Ranger Suárez and Catcher J.T. Realmuto. With so many key pieces to re-sign, someone might be the odd man out. And Schwarber, a pure DH, limits his market slightly.

But there is a problem for the Red Sox, too. The Red Sox already have a very expensive, full-time designated hitter in Masataka Yoshida.

Yoshida is still owed $37.2 million over the next two seasons, and the team cannot carry two high-priced, left-handed DHs, right? But what CBO Craig Breslow said shows he is ready for a bold move.

“I think flexibility is very valuable. There is certainly a talent threshold that warrants just penciling somebody in. If David Ortiz were available in his prime, then certainly that’s just something that you commit,” Breslow said. “But given we have, as an example, four outfielders that we think are capable of playing every day. The DH spot could be an opportunity to keep guys fresh and keep bats in the lineup.”

This whole chess match just got a final push when Outfielder Harrison Bader declined his $10 million option with the Phillies. Bader’s departure creates a significant void in both the Phillies’ offense and defense in the outfield.

This makes Kyle Tucker—an elite outfielder—an even more logical fit for Philadelphia. And that, in turn, makes their current DH, Kyle Schwarber, the odd man out. This move could clear the final path for his return to Boston.