As the Red Sox lineup sputters, ‘dangerous’ Kyle Schwarber offers a case of what they could have had

How to describe Kyle Schwarber?

“Dangerous,” suggested Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly.

The Red Sox received a reminder of that trait in the first inning of their 2-1 loss to the Phillies on Tuesday at Fenway Park. Sox opener Jovani Morán fell behind Schwarber, then teed up a 2-and-1, thigh-high 93-mile-per-hour fastball.

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Schwarber did what Schwarber does, smashing the offering for a solo homer — his major league-leading 17th of the season. He’s homered in five straight games — tying a franchise record — and adding to his career-long pattern of delivering instant offense.

Since 2021, Schwarber has 67 homers in the first inning, a number exceeded only by Aaron Judge (72) in that time. Few in baseball can jolt an offense in the first inning like Schwarber.

That he remained true to that form in Fenway was utterly unsurprising. With Tuesday’s 1-for-3 contest that included a homer and a walk (as well as a 113 m.p.h. lineout to right), Schwarber owns a career line at Fenway Park of .344/.470/.667 with seven homers in his 27 contests.

His career 1.137 OPS at Fenway ranks fifth all-time among players with at least 100 career plate appearances in the 114-year-old ballpark, just behind Hall of Famers Frank Robinson (1.188) and Ted Williams (1.148), slightly ahead of Jimmie Foxx (1.099) and Lou Gehrig (1.088).

Schwarber downplayed his place among those greats, suggesting his sample of plate appearances at Fenway couldn’t compare to his predecessors.

“It’s definitely cool . . . [but] I’m not going to get a big head about that, just because I know the at-bats aren’t there for me,” he said.

That said, Schwarber acknowledged that, yes, he does enjoy hitting in Boston.

“I feel I’ve always kind of just had an eye for the park,” said Schwarber. “Even when I got traded over [to the Sox at the 2021 trade deadline], I had some really good success. . . . It always just seems to fit the eye.”

That characterization, and Schwarber’s staggering success in Fenway, makes it hard not to think back to the Red Sox’ offseason — and the team’s short-armed pursuit of Schwarber.

Schwarber, of course, had a spectacular run in Boston in 2021 after the Sox acquired him from the Nationals as a rental at the trade deadline. He was incredible down the stretch for the Sox (.291/.435/.522) and seemed like a hand-in-glove fit, but the Sox were concerned about his roster fit and injury history, and were outbid in years (four) and dollars ($79 million) by the Phillies entering the 2022 season.

Over the next four years, Schwarber averaged 157 games and 47 homers per season in Philly, establishing himself as one of the top pure power hitters in baseball. Through the years, members of the Sox organization have lamented not making a more concerted effort to retain a player whose on- and off-field impact in a short period of time was considerable.

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Given his top-of-the-scales power and sterling clubhouse reputation, Schwarber seemed like an obvious Sox target for the winter after chief baseball officer Craig Breslow identified power as the team’s foremost lineup need at the beginning of the offseason.

Schwarber made no secret of his interest in re-signing with the Phillies after the 2025 season, but he also had made no secret of his prior enjoyment of playing in Boston. He remained open-minded to offers from other suitors.

“I always say, I want to respect the free agency process. You shouldn’t take that position lightly, because it’s hard to get to free agency,” said Schwarber. “You want to keep all avenues open. . . . I wanted also to listen to make sure you’re not cutting out any avenue.”

However, while surprise suitors such as the Reds and Pirates pursued Schwarber, the Sox never offered an alternative avenue. Sources at the time said the team never made an offer to Schwarber. The slugger confirmed that notion on Tuesday.

“We had the phone call, the Zoom, whatever it is,” said Schwarber. “There was a conversation. [The Sox’ pursuit] kind of just started and ended with the conversation.”

And so, Schwarber ended up back in Philadelphia on a five-year, $150 million deal that will span his age 33-37 seasons. The Phillies, who have foregrounded the present in their all-in window, were comfortable accepting the possibility of diminishing long-term returns in order to secure a difference-making lineup presence for the short term.

The Sox took a more measured approach in their quest for power. They did trade for Willson Contreras, who has played at something approaching an All-Star level at first base and leads the Sox with eight homers.

But they didn’t add a player with true, game-changing power. They didn’t make an offer to Schwarber, fell well short of Pete Alonso’s five-year, $155 deal with the Orioles, and both in the offseason and again late in spring training, failed to find common ground with the Astros on a Jarren Duran-for-Isaac Paredes deal due to disagreements about secondary pieces.

The Sox now have 29 homers for the season, the fewest in the American League. As for Schwarber?

“He’s just one of those guys that, if you make mistakes, he makes you pay,” said Mattingly.

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