Blue Jays may have caught a break as Kyle Schwarber lands outside of the division

"If money was the only concern, Kyle Schwarber might be a member of the Baltimore Orioles. According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, (subscription required) the Orioles offered the slugging All-Star the same deal that he reportedly got from the Philadelphia Phillies. On Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 9), news broke that Schwarber was heading back to the Phillies on a five-year, $150 million deal, and that is good news for the Toronto Blue Jays."

"The Orioles were not a good team in 2025. They struggled offensively, scoring 677 runs, 24th in the league. While they had the same amount of home run as the Blue Jays (191, 11th in the league), they weren't able to do much else. They had a combined slash line of .235/.305/.394 with an OPS of .699. But the Orioles should have a bounce back season as they have too much young talent to be this bad again."

"One way they could have helped improve on that record would have been by adding Schwarber, which would have made the Blue Jays job to repeat that much tougher. The Orioles were 6-7 against the Blue Jays last year, with a +10 run differential in those 13 head-to-head games. While Schwarber himself hasn't been exactly dominant against Toronto, he has hit some of their current starters well. He is 4-for-14 lifetime against Kevin Gausman with all four of hits against him going over the fence."

The Orioles reportedly offered Kyle Schwarber the same contract as the Philadelphia Phillies, but Schwarber signed a five-year, $150 million deal to return to Philadelphia. Schwarber landing outside the division benefits the Toronto Blue Jays by preventing the Orioles from adding a middle-of-the-order power bat. Baltimore struggled offensively in 2025, scoring 677 runs (24th) with a .235/.305/.394 slash line and .699 OPS despite matching the Blue Jays with 191 home runs. The Orioles possess young talent and could rebound, but adding Schwarber would have made Toronto's path to repeating more difficult. Schwarber has notable success versus some current Blue Jays starters, including four homers in 4-for-14 lifetime versus Kevin Gausman.

Read at Jays Journal