How Kyle Schwarber might have opened up the market
ORLANDO - The first big show appears to have dropped on Day 2 of the MLB Winter Meetings.
As agent Scott Boras was waxing poetic about two of his clients - Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso - news came down that a couple of big names not attached to Boras had agreed to signficant deals.
First came word from ESPN's Jeff Passan that Kyle Schwarber would be returning to Philadelphia on a five-year, $150 million deal. Then Will Sammon of The Athletic offered up the revelation that closer Edwin Diaz had agreed to a three-year, $69 million contract.
For Red Sox followers, it's the Schwarber contract that should be of particular note.
While the Red Sox did have some interest in reuniting with the 32-year-old designated hitter/first baseman/outfielder, it was always thought that a better fit would be Alonso due to the side of the plate he hits from (right). And while Philly wasn't necessarily at the forefront of the Alonso chase, taking that similar of a skillset off the market may helped define the former Mets slugger's landing spots.
With the signing of Schwarber, Philadelphia is also most likely out of the mix for the services of Bregman. Considering the perceived teams showing interest in the third baseman, that should allow the Red Sox a sigh of relief considering the dollars the Phillies could potentially throw at Bregman.
Without the Phillies as a suitor, Bregman's perceived most interested teams are the Tigers, Cubs and Red Sox, all of which don't seem in a rush to overpay for the 31-year-old.