Boston Red Sox
“[Boston’s pursuit] kind of just started and ended with the conversation.”
Kyle Schwarber has slugged over 200 home runs since joining the Phillies. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
May 13, 2026 | 5:20 PM
2 minutes to read
The Red Sox’ decision to let Kyle Schwarber walk after an abbreviated tenure with the club in 2021 stands as one of several painful missteps over the past few seasons for the ballclub.
As a power bat in the heart of Boston’s lineup, Schwarber slashed .291/.435/.522 with seven home runs for a Red Sox team that made a surprise run to the ALCS in 2021.
But Boston wasn’t able to retain Schwarber that winter, as he eventually signed a four-year, $79 million contract with the Phillies.
Since then, Schwarber has thrived as one of baseball’s premier sluggers — bashing a whopping 204 home runs over the past five seasons and 669 total games with Philly.
Despite his limitations as a DH with a high whiff rate, Schwarber’s pure power is sorely missed on a Red Sox team that desperately needs some thumpers in the lineup.
Boston had a chance to rectify that mistake this past offseason when Schwarber — fresh off of slugging 56 home runs and driving in 132 runs — hit free agency once again.
But speaking to Alex Speier of The Boston Globe, Schwarber revealed that contract talks with Boston didn’t go very far before he re-upped with the Phillies on a five-year, $150 million contract in December 2025.
“We had the phone call, the Zoom, whatever it is,” Schwarber told Speier. “There was a conversation. [Boston’s pursuit] kind of just started and ended with the conversation.”
Schwarber currently leads all of MLB with 17 home runs across 42 games so far this season, with the 33-year-old DH hitting a solo shot on Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Across 27 career games at Fenway Park, Schwarber holds a line of .344/.470/.667 with seven home runs.
As noted by Speier, Schwarber’s career 1.137 OPS at Fenway ranks fifth all-time among players with at least 100 career plate appearances — behind Frank Robinson (1.188) and Ted Williams (1.148), and just ahead of Jimmie Foxx (1.099) and Lou Gehrig (1.088).
“I feel I’ve always kind of just had an eye for the park,” Schwarber told Speier of Fenway. “Even when I got traded over [to the Sox at the 2021 deadline], I had some really good success . . . It always just seems to fit the eye.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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