On Wednesday, The Athletic named Cincinnati a potential suitor for both Brandon Lowe and Ketel Marte.

Had Schwarber taken the Reds' deal, the quickest way to shed salary would be to trade from their pool of arbitration-eligible players.

How serious were Reds? "I would say that they were not pulling (my) chains, and they were wanting to try to get me to Cincinnati," Schwarber said.

The unusually quiet Winter Meetings are in the books, so who were baseball's biggest winners and losers this week?

The signing gave the Orioles a slugger that they have long coveted, while also taking a target off the board for their rivals in the AL East, the Boston Red Sox. Alonso’s departure also stands as the latest domino to fall in a transformational offseason for the New York Mets, who have lost several mainstays in their clubhouse.

Kyle Schwarber talked to a lot of people the past couple months. The conversations started in Philadelphia. He had a good chat with Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski shortly after the Phils’ season ended in disappointment in October at Dodger Stadium.

The Orioles were the first team to level up their Kyle Schwarber offer, which the Phillies matched to land the DH.

Schwarber's teammates and coaches appreciated his leadership, work ethic and character. He has embraced them in turn.