Red Sox Rumors: How Mets’ Pete Alonso Impacts Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber Bidding

Talk about a worst-case scenario. Imagine this: the Boston Red Sox whiff on signing New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who decides to leave Queens, but not for a trip to Beantown.

Alonso is one of the two biggest bats available in free agency. The other is Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. Should Alonso sign first, and should the five-time All-Star pick a team other than the Red Sox or Mets, that could put the two clubs on a collision course for Schwarber.

“If the Mets want to mollify fans if they lose Alonso, Schwarber is an antidote, with the fringe benefit of hurting the Phillies (though Philadelphia could turn around and sign Alonso),” the New York Post’s Joel Sherman reports. “You would have a dual problem with (Juan) Soto in that both are lefty and both should probably be DHs.

“But I will take (Mets president of baseball operations David) Stearns at his word that Soto, still just 27, has room to improve defensively and willingness to do so,” Sherman adds. “And Schwarber set the left-on-left single-season homer record (23) last year, and among left-handed hitters has the best OPS vs. lefties over the last two years at .933 (among those with 150 plate appearances). Soto is fourth (.871).”

But wait, Red Sox Nation. There’s another piece of gloomy Schwarber news. ESPN’s Jeff Passan lists signing Schwarber as the best possible offseason move for the … Cincinnati Reds.

“Even if Cincinnati has indicated it doesn’t plan to increase payroll much over $116 million this year, there is room for a big swing,” Passan writes. “And the fact that the Reds have a glaring need for offense and that the best available free agent hitter grew up on the outskirts of the city is screaming for the Reds to throw caution to the wind and supercharge a team with plenty of potential to contend.

“Will they? Probably not. It’s the Reds. But it’s too obvious not to try to speak it into existence,” Passan adds.

And just to rub some salt on the wound. Should the Phillies fail to re-sign Schwarber, Passasn believes Philadelphia’s best move would be to sign Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman.

“They need an impact bat for the middle of the lineup and an impact person to lead the next generation. Considering the work he did in Boston this past season, one player checks all the boxes and offers precisely what the Phillies could use in every regard,” Passan notes about Bregman going to the City of Brotherly Love.

As for the fuss over Schwarber, the reason is pretty clear. He is a National League MVP finalist after leading the league with a career-high 56 home runs.

The three-time All-Star spent part of the 2021 season in Boston as a midseason acquisition and helped the Red Sox reach the American League Championship Series.