Well, there it is. Kyle Schwarber is returning to the Philadelphia Phillies on a five-year, $150 million megadeal, and the Pittsburgh Pirates once again find themselves standing in the middle of the MLB offseason with their pockets turned inside out and a PR story they can no longer hide behind.
Let’s be clear: the idea of the Pirates offering four years and around $120 million to Schwarber was a seismic moment. A franchise whose previous record free-agent contract wouldn’t even cover Schwarber’s bonus money is suddenly throwing nine figures at a former NL MVP runner-up?