Welcome back to the 2025-26 edition of Smash or Pass, in which we examine potential free agent and trade targets to determine whether the Red Sox should pursue them and what it would take to land them. Today we look at a slugger who has already thrived in Boston.
Who is he and where does he come from?
You know damn well who he is. He’s Kyle Schwarber, and he should be coming off a four-year deal in Boston that was signed after finishing his age-28 season with the Red Sox in 2021. He is instead coming from Philadelphia, a place where he smashed
187 home runs and knocked in 434 runs, while averaging 157 games in his four seasons there. He previously played six seasons for the Cubs after they drafted him fourth overall in 2014, and split the 2021 season between the Nationals and the Red Sox.
Is he any good?
Outside of Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, who have combined for seven MVPs this decade, he is the best power hitter in the game of baseball. Over his four years with Philadelphia, Schwarber’s 187 home runs were tied for second with Ohtani, only bested by Judge’s 210. No one else was even close to this trio, with fellow free-agent Pete Alonso in fourth at 158 home runs.
His statcast, especially for a 32-year-old, is stunning. Nobody, not even Shohei Ohtani, had a higher Hard Hit % in MLB than Schwarber’s 59.6%. His bat speed of 77.3 mph is fifth in baseball. Typically reserved for the kids in the league, the top four in bat speed are Oneil Cruz (age 27), Junior Caminero (22), Jordan Walker (23), and Jo Adell (26).
Schwarber’s walk rate of 14.9% sits in the top-3 percentile as well, leading to a .346 career OBP compared to a .231 career batting average. The strikeouts are high, with a 28.4% K-rate that has been steady throughout his career, the lone blemish on an otherwise red Savant page.
TL;DR: just give me his 2025 stats.
162 Games, 724 PAs, .240/.365/.563, 56 HR, 132 RBI, 111 HR, 10 SB, 14.9 BB%, 27.2 K%, 4.9 fWAR, 2nd in NL MVP
Why would he be a good fit on the Red Sox?
Because he was already a good fit on the Red Sox. A player who has notably stayed on the field throughout his career, Schwarber was ironically acquired while on the Injured List in 2021 by Boston. He split his time between left field and first base, a position which he had not yet played in his major league career, helping Boston reach the playoffs. Schwarber has participated in the playoffs in 10 of his 11 big league seasons, amassing 296 plate appearances over 73 playoff games, and swatting 23 home runs. For a team that seems to be on the upswing, Schwarber’s bat and veteran presence would be welcomed on this team.
And because he embraced the “Kyle from Waltham” nickname given to him by the Section 10 podcast in his first go-around, for simply looking like a Boston local.
Why wouldn’t he be a good fit on the Red Sox?
Because the Red Sox haven’t shopped in this bucket all too often in recent years. Over the past decade, the only two nine-figure free agent contracts that the team has signed are Trevor Story (6/$140M) in 2022 and J.D. Martinez (5/$110M) in 2018.
Schwarber is also almost exclusively a designated hitter at this point in his career, playing just 13 games combined in the outfield over the past two seasons. Between Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida as DH candidates, at least one trade would need to be made. Schwarber was a catcher for the Cubs in his 2015 rookie season, so perhaps that could be revisited?
Lastly, he is a left-handed hitter in an already unbalanced lineup where as Pete Alonso is a viable solution with tremendous power, who hits from the right side.
What would it take to get him?
- Kylie McDaniel, ESPN: 4 years, $128M
- Baseball America: 3 years, $110M
- Ben Clemens, Fangraphs: 3 years, $105M
- Median Crowdsource, Fangraphs: 4 years, $112M
I’m trusting Kylie on this one. Schwarber’s getting 4 years, and it will probably be close to $30M AAV.
Show me a cool highlight
The grand slam against the Astros in Game 3 of the ALCS has gotten the most publicity over the years, so I’ll go with his mammoth home run off of Gerrit Cole in the one-game Wild Card playoff. The immediate turn to calmly celebrate with the bench is a thing of beauty. But to be honest, I’m mostly biased towards this one because the ball landed ten feet to my right.
Smash or pass?
On a team that lacked a legitimate power threat for much of the 2025 season, and certainly in the playoffs, no player on the free agent or trade market can take care of that problem like Kyle Schwarber. He has a great deal of playoff experience and has played under Alex Cora while fitting in well in Boston. While he is entering his age-33 season, Schwarber’s hard hit data and bat speed remain as elite as it can get, making it difficult to see too steep a dropoff in the near future.
While I would probably prefer Alonso to Schwarber, both because of the right-handed bat and the ability to play the field, albeit with limited range, a longer-term commitment may be needed to acquire Alonso. As an opportunity to right a wrong that occurred four years ago, Schwarber is an easy smash in my book.
