Pirates fans should still be inspired by Kyle Schwarber gesture despite the failure

Kyle Schwarber is returning to the Philadelphia Phillies on a five-year deal worth $150 million, as first broken by Jeff Passan. Pittsburgh has unfortunately woken up from the exciting dream of actually landing the top slugger on the market. Despite missing out, the fanbase should still be inspired about the effort they made to secure him.

No, the city of Pittsburgh does not want to hear "we tried" at all. That has been the message for years, and to prove that they are serious, they still need to back it up with an actual signing.

But at the same time, the Pirates actually had a similar offer on the board to Schwarber to what the Phillies signed him to. Ken Rosenthal reported this morning that the Pirates were in the $120 million range for Schwarber. That means he would have been getting around $30 million a year from Pittsburgh. That's exactly how much he is getting from Philadelphia, but the Pirates were one year off (and the comforts of a familiar home surely played a role here).

For that reason, the fanbase should really be encouraged by this attempt to land Schwarber. Earmarking $120 million for one player is completely uncharacteristic of this organization, yet there was still an offer on the table. All that tells us is that they are finally willing to spend money to upgrade the roster.

Pirates fans should still have faith in front office from the attempt to land Kyle Schwarber.

It is very clear that this year is different from the past. Last offseason, the Pirates were connected to just a few names, most notably Alex Verdugo and Randal Grichuk. This year, they have been linked to Schwarber, Jorge Polanco, Ryan O'Hearn, Kazuma Okamoto, and more.

That narrative seems like it has changed. There are still fans out there that must see it to believe it, which is definitely a valid opinion, but at least they are connected to names that would dramatically impact the lineup.

It is disappointing to see Schwarber re-sign with Philadelphia after offering him such a big contract. He stays on a World Series roster and gets the fifth year he was looking for. Pittsburgh can't really persuade many players away from that kind of situation, yet at least they made some sort of effort to try. This offseason is far from over, and the fanbase should be feeling confident about this organization making some big time moves.