Red Sox free agent outfielder Tyler O’Neill signs with AL East rival (report)
Red Sox free agent outfielder Tyler O’Neill has found a new home. The free agent slugger is reportedly signing a three-year, $49.5 million deal that will include an opt-out after the first year, according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman.
O’Neill led the Red Sox with 31 homers last season while slugging .511 with a .847 OPS in 113 games. There was some mutual interest in a reunion on both sides, but the Red Sox reportedly weren’t “very aggressive in trying to bring back O’Neill, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford.
The Red Sox have been focused on trying to land All-Star Juan Soto and have also been showing interest in Teoscar Hernández. Boston never made an offer to O’Neill, according to MassLive’s Sean McAdam.
O’Neill never received a qualifying offer from the Red Sox this winter, meaning the Orioles will not need to forfeit draft pick compensation.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow acknowledged to the media at the end of September that he needs to balance out the Red Sox lineup.
“Whether it’s Tyler or someone else, replacing that type of production in the middle of the lineup is going to be a priority,” Breslow said to MassLive.com. “We’ll obviously have to see how this process plays out. But I anticipate we’ll be in communication. He’s earned the right to get to free agency. But I think the right-handed power hitter that can pop 30 and change a game with one swing is definitely a pretty desirable asset here.
“Obviously our lineup is pretty imbalanced in terms of being left-handed heavy,” Breslow said. “Figuring out how to balance that out, take advantage of the short left field wall. We saw the effect of a guy like Tyler and 30-plus home runs as a right-handed power hitter in the middle of the lineup.”
O’Neill, who was acquired from the Cardinals for right-handed pitchers Nick Robertson and Victor Santos, spent just one season with the Red Sox.
