Cincinnati Reds Making Major Mistake After Missing Out on Kyle Schwarber

Cincinnati – The 2025 MLB offseason felt like it was going to be a big one for the Cincinnati Reds. They have one glaring need and a plethora of players at their disposal to choose from, one being that kid from Middletown, Kyle Schwarber. The Reds missed out on signing the 32-year-old slugger, offering $25 million less than the Orioles and the Phillies. They offered five years at $125 million with "room to grow." They could use that money they had in line to sign Schwarber and put that somewhere else, right? No. 

It is being reported that the Reds are now sticking to their original plan of around $10 million for their remaining budget for the rest of the offseason after the Emilio Pagan signing, and that feels like malpractice. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic wrote about the Reds’ decision to pursue Kyle Schwarber and only Schwarber. 

“Unlike the Orioles, the Reds are not expected to pursue other expensive free agents,“ Rosenthal wrote.“Their offer to Schwarber, a native of Middletown, Ohio, about 35 miles north of Cincinnati, was tied to their belief that his addition would help drive ticket sales.” Reds' President of Baseball Operations Nick Krall also spoke to reporters in Orlando on Monday at the Winter Meetings about the team's planning around their budget.

“I think people look at every aspect where we can," Nick Krall told Mark Sheldon. "Our ownership group puts everything back into the team every year. They try to figure out how to break even every year. That’s how we budget. We’re trying to figure out how to best utilize that budget for the big-league club.”

If the Reds can make an exception to spend the extra money on a 32-year-old DH, why can't they make that same exception for a younger player like Pete Alonso or Cody Bellinger? Alonso's reported offer from the Mets is around three years and far less money than anyone expected for the slugger coming off a career-best season at the plate. The Reds could make a similar offer that they made to Kyle Schwarber to Pete Alonso and get similar, if not better, production long-term.

Then there's Cody Bellinger. Bellinger offers a little more flexibility than Alonso and Schwarber on defense, with the ability to play an outfield position as well as first base. Bellinger is 30 years old and has a career .339/.336/.626 slash line at Great American Ballpark with nine home runs and 24 RBIs in 27 games played in Cincinnati. That .626 slugging percentage is his best at any ballpark in his career with 10 games played or more. It is reported that Bellinger is expecting a similar average annual value to Schwarber's, around $30 million, but wants an extra year, making it a six-year contract. 

The news that the Castellinis and the company aren't willing to spend on any other big free agents is disheartening. This was supposed to be the offseason for the Reds to finally go all-in and make that push to chase after a Division title, win a playoff series, and maybe, just maybe, a chance at a World Series if the cards fall in your favor. Instead, it feels like ownership only wanted to "bring Kyle home" to fill seats because of where he was born, and not because of his talent and what he brings to this lineup. Instead, they will rely on Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Rece Hinds, and Will Benson to perform, on Matt McLain bouncing back, and on hoping TJ Friedl and Spencer Steer do not regress.

Missing out on Kyle Schwarber is something I think many fans can get over. It's the decision to look past the team's needs and how to make the team better, and choosing not to spend when they showed the willingness to offer a contract of that size to someone solely based on the fact that he is from Cincinnati.