What I’m hearing about the Reds’ interest in Kyle Schwarber and more MLB offseason notes – The Athletic

The Cincinnati Reds are serious about signing free-agent designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. Whether they can actually pull off such an upset is another matter entirely.

Schwarber is from Middletown, Ohio, about 35 miles north of Cincinnati. He is interested in a possible homecoming, according to people briefed on his thinking. The Reds offer him the chance to transform their young lineup and play for one of the game’s most respected managers, Terry Francona.

The problem for Cincinnati is that the Philadelphia Phillies almost certainly will offer Schwarber more money.

The Athletic’s Tim Britton projects Schwarber to receive a five-year, $145 million contract. Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall has said the team’s payroll will remain about the same as it was in 2025. According to Fangraphs’ estimates, that would leave the Reds with about $20 million to spend.

Schwarber, coming off a career-high 56 homers, will cost considerably more than that annually. And the Reds still would need to fortify their bullpen. They could trade utility man Gavin Lux, projected to earn $5 million in arbitration, and maybe another player in a similar salary range. But unless they made an exception for Schwarber, it’s difficult to see how they could make the finances work.

Schwarber, who turns 33 on March 5, is probably looking at his last big contract. He is unlikely to give the Reds much of a hometown discount, if any at all. Depending upon how free agency plays out, big-market teams such as the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox also could enter the mix.

So, what would be the Reds’ appeal? Well, they improved from 77 to 83 wins last season, their first under Francona. With the exception of Brady Singer, every member of their talented rotation is under club control beyond this season. And most of their best position players, including shortstop Elly De La Cruz, right fielder Noelvi Marte, corner infielder Sal Stewart and first baseman/outfielder Spencer Steer, are under control through at least 2028.

Stick Schwarber in that lineup as the designated hitter, and the entire group might take off. Over the past four seasons, only Aaron Judge has hit more home runs than Schwarber. Judge is at 210, while Schwarber is tied with Shohei Ohtani at 187.

To the Reds, it’s all rather tantalizing. Schwarber, as much as he loves playing for the Phillies, probably is intrigued, too. But in free agency, sentiment rarely carries the day. Money matters most, and it’s difficult to foresee the Reds coming up with enough.

Brewers ponder opening door on Freddy Peralta

Perhaps this was inevitable, but the interest in right-hander Freddy Peralta is so significant, the Milwaukee Brewers are now considering “cracking the door open” for trade discussions, according to a person briefed on their situation.

Both owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Matt Arnold said they were excited about their rotation after righty Brandon Woodruff accepted the team’s $22.025 million qualifying offer. But if the Brewers get a strong enough offer for Peralta, they believe the veteran presence of Woodruff and their numerous other rotation options still could leave them in position to contend in the NL Central.

The Brewers undoubtedly would set a high bar for Peralta, ideally landing a major-league ready starting pitcher as part of the return. It is possible no team would meet their price. But righty Dylan Cease commanded a seven-year, $210 million free-agent contract, reduced to $184.6 million in present-day value by deferrals, according to the Players Association. Peralta is the same age as Cease, 29, and is set to earn just $8 million in his final season before free agency. His trade value would be considerable.

Freddy Peralta pitches against the Dodgers in Game 2 of the 2025 NL Championship Series. (Michael McLoone / Imagn Images)

Without Peralta, the Brewers’ rotation would be led by Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski and Quinn Priester. Their other candidates would include Robert Gasser, Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson and Tobias Myers; two relievers who could start, Aaron Ashby and DL Hall; and possibly a pitcher they would acquire in the Peralta trade.

The Brewers obviously are better with Peralta than without him. Their best decision might be to keep him, try to build on their 97-win campaign and then make him a qualifying offer, ensuring draft-pick compensation. The $8 million they would save by trading him might not be especially meaningful. The greater impact, potentially, would be in the return.

Another option for the Brewers, as written previously, is to create payroll flexibility by signing Woodruff to a multiyear extension at a lower average annual value, or negotiating a new one-year deal for him that includes deferred money. There have been no substantive discussions on either possibility, a league source said.

Cody Bellinger’s defensive excellence

Cody Bellinger is not as accomplished a hitter as fellow free agent Kyle Tucker, but he rates as a better defensive outfielder. Part of that might be due to Tucker’s leg issues the past two seasons. But with Bellinger, it’s not just his ability that stands out. His versatility makes him one of the more unique defenders in major-league history.

Consider last season. Bellinger started 38 games in center, 48 in right and 59 in left. He is the only player in the modern era, dating to 1901, to start that many games at each of those positions in one season, according to STATS Perform. He also made three starts at first base.

Even with all his bouncing around, Bellinger produced his best defensive season in 2025, according to Fangraphs. He also rated very well in Statcast’s range, arm value and arm strength metrics.

One aspect Bellinger improved with the New York Yankees was his first-step quickness. Yankees third base coach and outfield instructor Luis Rojas said Bellinger worked hard to establish his pre-pitch rhythm early in spring training. He also became more consistent with his range and paid close attention to his metrics and catch probabilities.

But, as Rojas noted, “this guy was an excellent defender before he got to us.”

How the Rockies handled transition

The Colorado Rockies spent more than a month in flux between the resignation of general manager Bill Schmidt on Oct. 1 and the hiring of Paul DePodesta as their new head of baseball operations on Nov. 7. During that time, the department heads ran the team by committee and informed manager Warren Schaeffer and all of his coaches except pitching coach Darryl Scott that they were welcome to remain in the organization. They just couldn’t guarantee what roles each would play.

“Our thought was, we’re not going to make any commitments until we get that (head) person in. And ultimately, that person has to decide how we move forward,” Rockies executive vice president Walker Monfort said. “But what we didn’t want to do was lose high-caliber people we think highly of.”

Aside from Scott, who was not renewed, the only staff member to depart was bullpen coach Dustin Garneau, who became the catching coach with the Atlanta Braves. The Rockies received a request from another club to interview Schaeffer for a coaching position, Monfort said. But Schaeffer stayed, and the team announced on Nov. 24 that he would remain manager.

The Rockies are still working through roles for the remaining coaches and also plan to make external hires. DePodesta also intends to name a general manager, ideally before the winter meetings next week, and expand the team’s infrastructure.

“We know we need to grow our non-payroll baseball spending. Naturally, we are going to have to incrementally hire in certain areas,” Monfort said. “But we don’t have a definitive number – oh, it’s five or oh, it’s 10. We’re kind of going through the order of operations. Next step is the general manager. From there, we continue on.”

Bo knows

Some numbers to demonstrate the offensive prowess of free agent Bo Bichette:

*Against pitches 97-plus mph last season, Bichette batted .448 with a .516 weighted on-base average (wOBA). The league averages were .229 and .295.

Among free agents, Kyle Tucker was .219/.333; Alex Bregman .171/.268; Kyle Schwarber .233/.414; Pete Alonso .293/.330; Cody Bellinger .229/.299.

*Bichette also hits all kinds of pitching.

His career slugging marks are .460 against righties, .506 against lefties, .470 against fastball/sinkers, .455 against breaking pitches and .562 against offspeed.

*The value of lineup protection is often debated, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. certainly performed better last season with Bichette behind him.

Not only did Guerrero see a higher percentage of pitches in the zone when Bichette was the next batter, but he also batted .342 with a 1.016 OPS in those situations, .274 with a .787 OPS in front of all others.

Dude can hit.