The Cincinnati Reds missed out on Kyle Schwarber.
The Cincinnati Reds returned to the MLB playoffs in 2025, finishing with an 83–79 record and earning the final NL Wild Card spot on the last day of the regular season. Although their trip was short, as the Los Angeles Dodgers swept them in two games, the year still marked a step in the right direction for the organization.
As a result, there was optimism heading into the offseason that the Reds might use their limited payroll flexibility to make a splash in free agency. One of the biggest names they were linked to was left-handed slugger Kyle Schwarber, who was coming off the best year of his 11-year MLB career.
The connection made sense because Schwarber is an Ohio native from Middletown, less than an hour from Cincinnati, and the Reds had a clear need for a power-hitting designated hitter. With Schwarber available on the market and the team showing a willingness to spend, there was genuine belief they had a chance to bring him home.
However, the Reds fell short as Schwarber signed a five-year, $150 million deal to return to the Philadelphia Phillies. Immediately after Schwarber became unavailable, Cincinnati’s offer to the 32-year-old veteran surfaced. The Reds had extended a five-year proposal, but it came up $25 million short, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
Shortly after, Jeff Passan of ESPN released his recap of the MLB winter meetings, which officially concluded on Wednesday. In the report, Passan labeled the Reds as the biggest loser of the meetings.
“Cincinnati, in the meantime, is the biggest loser. Free agents of Schwarber’s ilk rarely entertain the idea of going to small market teams, but the Reds had a built-in advantage: He was from there. Considering the scarcity of such possibilities, the Reds, one big bat away from being a real threat to win the NL Central, needed to treat Schwarber’s potential arrival with urgency and embrace their inner spendthrift,” he wrote.
“They had the money to place the largest bid. They chose not to. And they missed, a true shame considering the strength of their rotation and the likelihood that similar opportunities won’t find them again anytime soon.”
The Reds did make one move before the winter meetings, re-signing closer Emilio Pagán to a two-year, $20 million contract. Still, Cincinnati had the chance to land Schwarber, who had just hit 56 home runs and finished second in National League MVP voting, and they failed to come close.