The first major free agent chip fell this morning with Kyle Schwarber returning to Philadelphia on a five-year, $150MM deal. The reunion seemed likely from the start, though the slugger had several other suitors, including at least one willing to match the $150MM price tag. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the Orioles offered Schwarber the same deal he ultimately accepted with the Phillies.
President of baseball operations Mike Elias has made it clear the team is looking for an impact bat, even after acquiring Taylor Ward. The Orioles still have a significant gap between last year’s payroll and their financial outlook for next season, giving them the potential flexibility for a large expenditure. The club has already spent some money this offseason, though it’s all gone to the bullpen. Baltimore added Ryan Helsley on a two-year, $28MM deal and picked up the $9MM option on Andrew Kittredge after acquiring him from the Cubs.
Camden Yards would’ve been a fun fit for Schwarber. Statcast’s Park Factors ranked it as the third-best home run venue for left-handed hitters. Citizens Bank Park tops the list, so Schwarber isn’t missing out on much by spurning the Orioles.
Baltimore will now turn its attention to the remaining free agent bats, including Pete Alonso. The Orioles and Red Sox are expected to meet face-to-face with the former Met this week. Baltimore’s lineup is strong up the middle and behind the plate, but there should be room to make additions at the corners and DH. Youngsters Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo will likely factor in at first base and DH, but they wouldn’t preclude the club from adding a player like Alonso. Rosenthal noted the club is also considering Kyle Tucker in its pursuit of an elite hitter.
Pittsburgh’s interest in Schwarber was met with skepticism, but the club came through with a legitimate offer. Rosenthal had the Pirates’ proposal at four years and $120MM, while Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported the club offered $125MM. Pittsburgh’s offer either met or exceeded the Philles’ deal in terms of average annual value, according to those reports. The fifth year could’ve been the trump card, but it’s hard to scoff at an offer worth upwards of $30MM per season.
Landing Schwarber for anywhere near those reported numbers would have easily set a franchise record for a free agent signing. The current mark is $39MM for Francisco Liriano in 2014. Pittsburgh’s last multi-year signing was a three-year deal with Ivan Nova heading into the 2017 campaign.
GM Ben Cherington previously touted the team’s increased financial flexibility this offseason, and the front office is doing what it can to make a big splash. Pittsburgh was also in on Josh Naylor before he re-signed with Seattle. Stumpf noted that the club will now turn its attention to another former Mariner, Jorge Polanco. The Pirates are expected to have an offer to him soon, per Stumpf.
Cincinnati had been connected to Schwarber given its proximity to his hometown. Rosenthal had the Reds’ offer at five years, but closer to $125MM. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reported that Schwarber and his wife met with Cincinnati brass before Thanksgiving.
Unlike the Orioles and Pirates, the Reds are not expected to redirect the money offered to Schwarber elsewhere. Their pursuit of the slugger was driven by the idea that signing him would benefit ticket sales, per Rosenthal. Schwarber is from Middletown, Ohio, less than an hour from Great American Ball Park.
Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images
Garbage pr. You can’t match it. He wanted to stay with Philly. You need to destroy their offer. 5 165 6 180
Is was a worthy offer obviously. Orioles have a few other high end options to go after with that money.
AI – What probably happened is the O’s made their final offer and Philly matched it, similar to Judge & the Yankees.
No sense in going crazy high if the Phillies will match anything. O’s still have other options, they mean business finally. Bad news for Red Sox.
150 is what I expected. I wanna see you signed him or he turned down drastically more $. Pirates Orioles made fair strong offers but wasn’t going to be enough. Got their names in media. Made Philly paid. But if you wanted him you don’t make it your final offer. No biggie. I don’t give a it. Just not giving them credit for it playing out just like I and many others expected.
Truth
Exactly this, he’s not going to mull over an offer of equal value unless he had predispositions to Baltimore or had some sort of ill will towards Philly which he doesn’t. I like the willingness for my O’s to go that high a price for him, but it just wasn’t enough for his consideration.
If Cherington swoops in and snags Alonso because John Henry thinks Boston is a AA city, I swear to god…
Phil – Sox will probably make a trade for someone like Marte, they will fill their need for a good hitter. Still a good chance Bregman returns too.
Pirates should go after Alonso. If they do I can see why they didn’t offer Schwarber 6 years 175m. Alonso similar talent and just as big if not even bigger star.
While being willing to match said offer isn’t nothing, do you really think he’s going to pick a new team over a team he’s very familiar with for the same deal? Not to mention the Phils have been competing at a far more consistent playoff level while he’s been there.
scruff – Where did I say that?
Players will almost always stay with a team they like if the offers are identical or even just close.
Wouldn’t you want to beat the Phillies’ offer to try to pry Schwarber away from his incumbent team?
Informed – The current team will almost always get final chance to match the top offer from other teams, assuming the player really likes their current team. Which was the case with Schwarber.
Baltimore likely made the offer and Philly was given the opportunity to match it.
I would hope Alonso thinks Boston has the best potential to win, but I don’t think Boston will match 5 years.
I think this article has it backwards. I believe the Orioles made that initial offer, and then Schwarber took it back to the Phillies, giving them the opportunity to match it, which they did.
The reporting I read was that Philly matched the Orioles offer, not the other way around.
Either way, I’m not too bothered that we didn’t go any further than 5 years, $150 million for a pure DH heading into his mid 30s.
Pretty sure all other teams (not Philly) were making their bids in the dark, not knowing what total dollar amount other teams offered. Agents normally don’t tell to try to get them to bid against themselves. They don’t tell you the team unless it’s already openly reported. In this case we knew the suitors. Orioles made the highest bid and Philly always had the chance to match it at the last minute because Kyle clearly wanted to stay there. This is very different from saying the Phillies made the offer and the O’s then matched it. If it’s the latter, then shame on O’s.. they needed to beat it. But I’m pretty sure it was the former and your report is misleading, respectfully. I’d love to hear the facts because I’ve seen it both ways. One makes the O’s look good and the other makes them look bad, although not as bad as the Reds or Pirates. Please clarify.
So lame that the reds won’t use the money they would’ve spent on schwarber on another player/players
Cease be like am I a joke to you