CINCINNATI — In the end, for Reds closer Emilio Pagán said, it was not about the money when he officially re-signed with the club on Thursday.

For the Reds, though, money is a factor as the team tries to not only return to the playoffs for the second season in a row, but also advance in postseason play for the first time since 1995. If money were not a factor, there is a perfect match between the Reds and free-agent designated hitter Kyle Schwarber.

Money is a factor, but is it the only one? Only Schwarber (and maybe his agent Casey Close) knows.

Major League Baseball’s Winter Meetings begin Monday, and the Philadelphia Phillies, Schwarber’s last team, have expressed a desire to bring him back and hinted that they won’t be outbid for his services. He hasn’t signed yet, though, meaning the decision is not as simple as many expected.

The Phillies are the favorite to sign the 32-year-old, but many insiders see the Reds as the favorite if he signs anywhere else. If money isn’t the only factor, the Reds believe they have some advantages that could specifically entice Schwarber, who is from nearby Middletown, Ohio. Still, it would be a surprise to most if he didn’t return to Philadelphia.

At the dawn of the offseason, Pagán said he told his agents that he wanted to return to Cincinnati and wouldn’t be going for the top dollar.

“At the end of the day, I wasn’t going to make a decision based on who was giving me the most money,” Pagán said Thursday. “I wanted to go somewhere where I felt comfortable, where I felt like I had a chance to win games and be around a special group of people. Cincinnati checks all three of those boxes.”

Pagán does not live in the area in the offseason and didn’t grow up going to Great American Ball Park and dreaming of playing there in a Reds uniform.

If the Reds did land Schwarber, it would likely be the biggest addition to the team since trading for Ken Griffey Jr. ahead of the 2000 season.

“We’re working through the offseason and figuring out who’s out there and what everyone costs,” president of baseball operations Nick Krall said Thursday. “We’ll see what the prices are, both on the trade market and the free agent market.”

Krall has said the budget he’s received from ownership is similar to last year’s, which is in the range of $115-$120 million. With the contracts on the books and raises from arbitration, Krall and general manager Brad Meador have roughly $20 million to spend, and half of that went to Pagán.

Signing Schwarber would require ownership to approve a bump in payroll, but the slugger could have an impact at the box office in addition to the lineup. Still, Cincinnati needs to add to its bullpen in addition to looking for the type of bat that can help take advantage of homer-friendly Great American Ball Park.

There are moves the team could use to free up some money, including trading some of their higher-priced players, like utilityman Gavin Lux or catcher Tyler Stephenson. It’s unlikely the team would move any of its starting pitchers unless it was for an impact bat — and even less likely the long-discussed and overblown Hunter Greene rumors would come to fruition.

This team needs to add to its young core, which includes shortstop Elly De La Cruz, outfielder Noelvi Marte, infielder Sal Stewart and second baseman Matt McLain.

That group, according to Pagán, was part of the reason he wanted to stay with the Reds.

“I think last year was just scratching the surface of what we can become,” he said.

Schwarber could be a true middle-of-the-order bat and provide cover for De La Cruz, whose 22 home runs led the team in 2025. Schwarber has topped that number of home runs in each of the eight seasons that he’s played in at least 70 games. He’s twice led his league in home runs, hitting 56 last season and 46 in 2022. He also appeared in all 162 games this past season and drove in 132 runs.

There are other considerations beyond geography, like the cost of living and income taxes.

Would Schwarber, who will be 33 at the start of the 2026 season, take less in what could be the last big-money, long-term contract of his career? We won’t know until he signs. It’s not out of the question that he could weigh those factors ahead of getting the absolute top dollar — Pagán did, albeit at a fraction of the five-year, $145 million deal predicted by The Athletic’s Tim Britton.

“No place is perfect, for sure, but the people here are really special, and there’s no reason why the Reds can’t be a destination for players across all of baseball. It’s been a destination in the past,” Pagán said. “There’s a lot of history here, and there’s no reason why we can’t get back to that and being one of the top franchises in the game.”