Red Sox Pursuing Reunion With $79 Million Slugger
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Ex-Red Sox slugger Kyle Schwarber
Boston Red Sox fans fell in love with Kyle Schwarber during his brief stint with the Sox back in the 2021 season when he helped them advance to the ALCS. Now, four years later, a potential reunion is possible between Schwarber and Boston.
MLB insider Jon Morosi joined MLB Network’s “Hot Stove” program, where he confirmed that the Red Sox have indeed checked in on Schwarber and are pursuing a reunion with the slugger.
“Pursuit is the word that I will use right now, as opposed to hot pursuit… I can confirm that yes, the Red Sox have checked in on Kyle Schwarber,” Morosi said.
How serious are the Red Sox pursuing a reunion with Kyle Schwarber?
“Pursuit is the word that I will use right now, as opposed to hot pursuit… I can confirm that yes, the Red Sox have checked in on Kyle Schwarber.” – @jonmorosi
Although he will be entering his 33-year-old season, Schwarber hasn’t shown signs of slowing down; in fact, like a good bottle of whiskey, the Ohio native seems to be getting better with age. Schwarber set career highs in his age 32 season in Philadelphia in 2025, hitting a whopping 56 home runs and driving in 132 runs. In the three seasons since he turned 30, he has hit 141 home runs and isn’t showing signs of slowing down.
The Red Sox acquired Schwarber in the 2021 season from Washington. In 41 regular season games with Boston, he hit seven home runs with 18 RBI while sporting a .291 batting average. He hit three home runs in the Sox magical ALCS run that season.
Schwarber vs. Alonso: Who Is More Likely To Sign With Boston?
It’s been heavily reported that the Red Sox will be major players for another slugger by the name of Pete Alonso this winter. In all likelihood, Boston won’t sign both Alonso and Schwarber, in order to conserve money to upgrade their pitching rotation.
The Red Sox absolutely need a power bat in the middle of the lineup after power proved to be a area of weakness down the stretch, so the likelihood of them signing one of these two is incredibly high.
So who is a better fit for Boston? Alonso and Schwarber are almost identical, in that they fit the exact same archetype of being power hitting first basemen who hit a ton of home runs but also strikeout a lot. You can live with the strikeouts with either of these guys if they make up for it with their power.
Both will likely command anywhere between $25-30 million annually and will both be looking for long term deals. Alonso has an advantage as he is only 30 to Schwarber’s 32, but his power numbers have regressed in recent years, where Schwarber’s have improved.
Alonso would be a better fit in the field as he is an everyday first baseman while Schwarber is more of an everyday DH at this point in his career.
If you asked Red Sox fans who they would rather have, I’d wager that more would say Schwarber because of his history in Boston and the fact that he was open about loving his time here. If you ask Sox GM Craig Breslow who they’re more likely to get, it’s probably Alonso.
Either would be a slam dunk for the organization.
Ben Johnson praised underrated trait Cole Kmet has no Bears fan talks about
The Chicago Bears’ 19-17 victory over the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium didn’t feature the offensive production that had been featured in previous weeks.
Going into the Week 11 matchup, the Bears averaged 26.5 points per game and fell short of that mark. The offense scored just one touchdown and converted seven of 18 third-down attempts.
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores heavily blitzed, which impacted the Bears’ offense. To combat the blitz, the Bears used their tight ends more in the passing game against the Vikings than in any other game this season.
Cole Kmet shined with Colston Loveland with strong games for the Bears
Bears tight ends finished with nine receptions on 12 targets for 93 yards. The previous high for targets to tight ends was nine, which occurred in Weeks 4 and 9 against the Las Vegas Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals.
Cole Kmet led the Bears with his five receptions for 45 yards, and the veteran tight end served as a safety blanket for Caleb Williams when the Vikings blitzed off the edge.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson was asked about Kmet’s play during his Zoom press conference.
“I thought Cole played one of his best games he has so far this year,” Johnson said. “I get he caught a couple more balls, but I'm not even talking about that. He's great in the running game and then pass pro we put him in some tough matchups there on some of their defensive end or outside linebacker types, and I thought he did an outstanding job throughout that. When he was a ball carrier, you felt his presence out there. He was lowering his shoulder, he was stiff-arming. He brought our sideline to life a couple of times.”
Rookie tight end Colston Loveland caught three passes for 40 yards, including a 24-yard reception on third-and-13. Durham Smythe caught one pass for eight yards on three targets.
According to
Read more: Ben Johnson is avoiding one critical Bears topic like the plague
Although the offense must make noticeable improvements after the win over the Vikings, the tight ends' involvement in the overall game plan is something Johnson should continue to develop in the second half of the regular season.
