Welcome again to the 2025-26 version of Smash or Pass, through which we look at potential free agent and commerce targets to find out whether or not the Pink Sox ought to pursue them and what it could take to land them. Right now we take a look at a slugger who has already thrived in Boston.
Who’s he and the place does he come from?
rattling nicely who he’s. He’s Kyle Schwarber, and he ought to be coming off a four-year deal in Boston that was signed after ending his age-28 season with the Pink Sox in 2021. He’s as an alternative coming from Philadelphia, a spot the place he smashed 187 residence runs and knocked in 434 runs, whereas averaging 157 video games in his 4 seasons there. He beforehand performed six seasons for the Cubs after they drafted him fourth general in 2014, and break up the 2021 season between the Nationals and the Pink Sox.
Exterior of Aaron Decide and Shohei Ohtani, who’ve mixed for seven MVPs this decade, he’s the most effective energy hitter within the recreation of baseball. Over his 4 years with Philadelphia, Schwarber’s 187 residence runs had been tied for second with Ohtani, solely bested by Decide’s 210. Nobody else was even near this trio, with fellow free-agent Pete Alonso in fourth at 158 residence runs.
His statcast, particularly for a 32-year-old, is beautiful. No one, not even Shohei Ohtani, had the next Arduous Hit % in MLB than Schwarber’s 59.6%. His bat pace of 77.3 mph is fifth in baseball. Usually reserved for the children within the league, the highest 4 in bat pace are Oneil Cruz (age 27), Junior Caminero (22), Jordan Walker (23), and Jo Adell (26).
Schwarber’s stroll price of 14.9% sits within the top-3 percentile as nicely, resulting in a .346 profession OBP in comparison with a .231 profession batting common. The strikeouts are excessive, with a 28.4% Okay-rate that has been regular all through his profession, the lone blemish on an otherwise red Savant page.
TL;DR: simply give me his 2025 stats.
162 Video games, 724 PAs, .240/.365/.563, 56 HR, 132 RBI, 111 HR, 10 SB, 14.9 BB%, 27.2 Okay%, 4.9 fWAR, 2nd in NL MVP
Why would he be a great match on the Pink Sox?
As a result of he was already a great match on the Pink Sox. A participant who has notably stayed on the sphere all through his profession, Schwarber was mockingly acquired whereas on the Injured Record in 2021 by Boston. He break up his time between left discipline and first base, a place which he had not but performed in his main league profession, serving to Boston attain the playoffs. Schwarber has participated within the playoffs in 10 of his 11 huge league seasons, amassing 296 plate appearances over 73 playoff video games, and swatting 23 residence runs. For a crew that appears to be on the upswing, Schwarber’s bat and veteran presence can be welcomed on this crew.
And since he embraced the “Kyle from Waltham” nickname given to him by the Part 10 podcast in his first go-around, for merely wanting like a Boston native.
Why wouldn’t he be a great match on the Pink Sox?
As a result of the Pink Sox haven’t shopped on this bucket all too usually in recent times. Over the previous decade, the one two nine-figure free agent contracts that the crew has signed are Trevor Story (6/$140M) in 2022 and J.D. Martinez (5/$110M) in 2018.
Schwarber can be virtually completely a chosen hitter at this level in his profession, taking part in simply 13 video games mixed within the outfield over the previous two seasons. Between Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida as DH candidates, at the very least one commerce would should be made. Schwarber was a catcher for the Cubs in his 2015 rookie season, so maybe that could possibly be revisited?
Lastly, he’s a left-handed hitter in an already unbalanced lineup the place as Pete Alonso is a viable answer with large energy, who hits from the appropriate facet.
What wouldn’t 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’ll most likely be near $30M AAV.
The grand slam in opposition to the Astros in Recreation 3 of the ALCS has gotten probably the most publicity over time, so I’ll go along with his mammoth residence run off of Gerrit Cole within the one-game Wild Card playoff. The fast flip to calmly have fun with the bench is a factor of magnificence. However to be trustworthy, I’m principally biased in direction of this one as a result of the ball landed ten toes to my proper.
On a crew that lacked a professional energy menace for a lot of the 2025 season, and definitely within the playoffs, no participant on the free agent or commerce market can maintain that drawback like Kyle Schwarber. He has an excessive amount of playoff expertise and has performed underneath Alex Cora whereas becoming in nicely in Boston. Whereas he’s getting into his age-33 season, Schwarber’s exhausting hit information and bat pace stay as elite as it could possibly get, making it troublesome to see too steep a dropoff within the close to future.
Whereas I might most likely want Alonso to Schwarber, each due to the right-handed bat and the power to play the sphere, albeit with restricted vary, a longer-term dedication could also be wanted to amass Alonso. As a possibility to proper a unsuitable that occurred 4 years in the past, Schwarber is a simple smash in my ebook.
