Former Red Sox Star Is Good Free Agency Comp For Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber

How much is too much when it comes to signing slugger Kyle Schwarber? That’s what the Boston Red Sox and other clubs have to decide in the offseason about the Philadelphia Phillies star.

Schwarber leads the National League with 53 home runs and tops the majors with 128 RBIs, making him a legitimate MVP candidate despite spending most of his time in the lineup as a designated hitter.

If that sounds familiar, well, it should. MLB insiders who are trying to predict Schwarber’s next contract are using former Red Sox All-Star J.D. Martinez as a comparison.

“Finding a good comp for a 33-year-old DH coming off of his best season is a difficult task,” MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported. “Most DH-only players don’t land big multi-year contracts in the first place; they typically become a DH in the middle of a long-term deal that was signed while they still played a position.

And that brings us to Martinez.

“J.D. Martinez signed a five-year, $110 million contract with the Red Sox in the spring of 2018 as he entered his age-30 season,” Feinsand noted. “Martinez was an All-Star in every full season of the deal, the lone exception coming in 2020, when there was no All-Star Game.”

“Martinez is a good comp,” an NL executive said, according to Feinsand. “Guys like him and Schwarber have the swing and makeup to hit well into their mid-to-late 30s, so age isn’t as much of a concern.”

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel listed Martinez as one of three comps for Schwarber.

“J.D. Martinez: Five years, $110 million going into his age-30 season in 2018 (45 HRs, 4.3 WAR walk year)

“Paul Goldschmidt: Five years, $130 million going into his age-32 season in 2020 (33 HRs, 4.6 WAR in walk year)

“(Freddie) Freeman: Six years, $162 million going into his age-32 season in 2022 (31 HRs, 4.7 WAR in walk year)

Schwarber has a career-high 4.8 WAR this season and has slugged at least 46 home runs in three of the last four years. So what does that mean in terms of dollars?

“Among those we spoke to, the consensus is that Schwarber should land a deal of four or five years for at least $30 million per season,” Feinsand reported.

That’s in the same ballpark as McDaniel, who polled 20 scouts, executives and agents.

“The average of all 20 projections is 4.3 years, $131.8 million, for a $30.7 million average annual value (AAV),” McDaniel wrote.

Schwarber spent part of the 2021 season in Boston as a midseason acquisition and helped the Red Sox reach the American League Championship Series.

An 11-year-veteran and three-time All-Star, Schwarber helped the Chicago Cubs win the 2016 World Series.