Boston Red Sox' Insider Discusses What Sox Would Need From M's in Tyler O'Neill Trade
Well everyone is fixating on the Seattle Mariners potentially acquiring superstar outfielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox in a trade, there is another outfielder who could be a good fit for the M's: Tyler O'Neill of the Boston Red Sox.
O'Neill was mentioned as a possibility by Jeff Passan of ESPN on Seattle Sports on Tuesday, and he makes a lot of sense.
First off, he's on an expiring contract, so the price wouldn't be as high as for Robert Jr., who has up to four years left on his deal. Second, he's older (28), also lowering the price. He doesn't have the recent resume of Robert Jr. either, which also should lower the price.
However, he delivers similar impact and comes with similar questions. O'Neill hasn't played 100 games in a season since 2021, so he comes with the same injury questions as Robert Jr., who has been injured frequently since 2022. Furthermore, O'Neill did hit 34 homers in that season, so he comes with similar power to Robert Jr. He's also won a Gold Glove and fits the M's profile of wanting athletic defenders in the outfield, and he can play the corners more naturally, which makes him a better fit with Julio Rodriguez.
On Wednesday, Red Sox' Insider Tom Caron of NESN spoke about what it would take to get O'Neill in a trade and he mentioned possibly taking multiple prospects if they are far away from the majors. He also mentioned taking one solid pitching prospect, regardless of level. He made the latter comments on the 'Brady Farkas Show' on WDEV Radio:
The Red Sox certainly do need pitching, as they have nothing really in the immediate farm system that is close to the big leagues. Nick Pivetta is a free agent at the end of the season and they could lose him while Garrett Whitlock and Lucas Giolito come with injury concerns next year.
Looking at the M's top prospects, according to MLB.com, the M's don't have any pitchers in their Top 10 prospects. Logan Evans is in the Top 100 according to Baseball America and feels like too strong a return for a rental bat in O'Neill, but perhaps Michael Morales (A ball, No. 12 MLB.com) could be a fit as the lower-level kind of arm that Caron mentions could help re-stock the system.
O'Neill is hitting .250 this season with 11 homers and 18 RBI. He's got a .354 on-base percentage but only has 156 at-bats after battling knee injuries.
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