Kyle Schwarber brutally rejected one team in free agency

Kyle Schwarber apparently was not at all interested in coming home.

The three-time MLB All-Star slugger Schwarber cruelly rejected the Cincinnati Reds in free agency this offseason, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reported this week. Nightengale says that the Reds were willing to offer more money to Schwarber than he ended up re-signing with the Philadelphia Phillies for. However, Schwarber reportedly told Cincinnati that it would not be necessary.

Schwarber, 32, ultimately returned to the Phillies on a five-year, $150 million deal. After originally signing with Philadelphia before the 2022 season, Schwarber is now tied to them through the 2030 MLB campaign.

That rejection sounded especially cold for Cincinnati, though. For one, Schwarber is a native of nearby Middletown, Ohio, meaning that the Reds are effectively his hometown team.

For another, the Reds are not even in all that bad of a situation right now. They won 83 games and made the playoffs last season and also have some good long-term building blocks on both sides of the ball, such as Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Greene.

But the reigning NL home runs leader Schwarber was obviously intent on running it back for several more years with the Phillies. As a result, the Reds received their worst heartbreak from a hometown kid since what Rob Lowe did to them in the 2025 playoffs.