Red Sox Called Early Favorite To Reunite With Star Slugger This Winter

It sounds like a real possibility that the Red Sox could reunite with the slugger

Apr 1, 2016; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; MLB logo on the on-deck circle during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays at Olympic Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports / Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox are right in the middle of the American League Wild Card race right now.

Boston is just two games out of a playoff spot right now and improved around the deadline. The Red Sox also are about to get healthier with Triston Casas and Vaughn Grissom both on rehab assignments with the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox.

The Red Sox are an exciting team to watch over the next few months but then there will be some tough decisions that need to be made. It's too early to have any idea what clubs will do in free agency but that doesn't mean it won't be talked about.

Bleacher Report's Zachary Rymer put together a list of the top free agents with possible landing spots and predicted that the Red Sox will end up reuniting with slugger Tyler O'Neill.

"Tyler O'Neill didn't look like a potential top-10 free agent as recently as May, but he's put himself firmly in the conversation more recently. Since coming off a stint on the IL with knee inflammation on June 5, the slugger has cranked 11 home runs and posted a .955 OPS over 37 games. Among Boston Red Sox hitters, he's second to Rafael Devers in home runs and runs batted in...

"Sensible on-paper fits for O'Neill include the Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals, and possibly one of his former clubs, the St. Louis Cardinals. But there's also the reality that the Red Sox can ill afford to lose him. They would be perilously short on right-handed oomph without him, and it's unsurprising that Fenway Park has been a great fit for his swing. A reunion should be in order, and it should be doable at a Jorge Soler-like rate."

O'Neill has been a revelation for the Red Sox since acquiring him in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. The two-time Gold Glove Award winner has 22 home runs and 45 RBIs in 80 games played so far this season.

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