Inside The Red Sox

Red Sox Breakout Star Could Be Traded To Royals After Stellar Start

Boston has some valuable pieces at the deadline

Scott Neville

May 19, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Tyler O'Neill (17) reacts as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
May 19, 2024; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Tyler O'Neill (17) reacts as he runs the bases after hitting a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports / Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
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The Boston Red Sox entered the offseason with hopes of adding some key pieces to the rotation and a right-handed bat.

After failing to address either need in a meaningful way, many complained that the lowly Kansas City Royals were having the winter Boston was supposed to after bolstering both needs with the additions of right-handers Michael Wacha (4-5, 4.24 ERA), Seth Lugo (9-1, 1.72 ERA) and outfielder Hunter Renfroe.

As it turns out, the additions the Royals made ended up working out as they currently have a 36-25 record, good for second in the American League Central while being cemented into a wild card spot.

Now, the Red Sox have a chance to further bolster the Royals roster by moving one of their more premier impending free agents at the July 30 trade deadline.

"Even after recent struggles, Kansas City holds the fourth-best record in the AL, and beyond an acute need for bullpen help, the Royals could use an outfielder who can hit," ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote Tuesday. "In 685 plate appearances this season, their outfielders are hitting .204/.271/.324, good for a wOBA of .267 -- the worst among all big league outfields."

Passan also noted that Red Sox outfielder Tyler O'Neill "would draw plenty of interest, provided he's healthy."

O'Neill is hitting .236 with 17 extra-base hits including 11 home runs, 17 RBIs and a .843 OPS (133 OPS+) in 41 games since joining the Red Sox.

The 28-year-old will be an enticing carrot to dangle at a deadline that will lack impact outfielders. If Boston continues to play .500 baseball, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow is likely to sell given his consistent messaging that the organization is using this season to see what they have both on the farm and the big-league roster.

Amid breakout seasons from Tanner Houck. Kutter Crawford, Wilyer Abreu and others, Breslow can use O'Neill to acquire some intriguing prospects and ideally actually spend some money next offseason.

The roster as currently constructed is not good enough to make a meaningful run and likely is not a few pieces away either. Everything points to impending free agents such as O'Neill, Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and possibly Nick Pivetta being dealt in the coming months.

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Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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