Red Sox's Tyler O'Neill Hints At Which Team He Will Play For Next Season

It's been a good year in Boston, but does the slugger want another one?

Sep 11, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Tyler O'Neill (17) his a three run home run to win the game against the Baltimore Orioles in ten innings at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

If there's one thing the Boston Red Sox's front office did well in 2024, it was making trades before the season even started.

The Red Sox acquired rookie reliever Justin Slaten from the New York Mets, and may have found their closer of the future. They offloaded Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees in a walk year, and their outfield got better as a result. Then, of course, there was the Tyler O'Neill trade.

For Nick Robertson, the pitcher the Red Sox got from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Kiké Hernández trade, and minor-league righty Victor Santos, the Red Sox got O'Neill, who has been excellent for most of the year. He owns an .875 OPS and 31 home runs in 107 games for Boston thus far.

When a player has success in a uniform, he has an incentive to stay with that team. And as O'Neill heads to free agency, one has to wonder if the Red Sox are planning to make a real pass at retaining him, based on how well the year has gone for the slugger.

Speaking with NESN's Jahmai Webster before the Red Sox's game on Tuesday, O'Neill seemed to indicate that the door is very much open for him to remain in Boston in 2025 and beyond.

"I really hope Boston (takes) interest in me," O'Neill told Webster. "Like I said, it's been an awesome year. I've made a lot of good friendships, good relationships here. Really enjoyed the city. The weather, even this time of year. It's been great. Boston has definitely been one of my favorite places to play. I've said that even as a visiting ballplayer coming into Fenway Park."

For much of the summer, it felt like a foregone conclusion that O'Neill would be one-and-done with Boston. But as the rest of the outfield has slowed down in September, the British Columbia native has caught fire. And he represents something the Red Sox desperately need: right-handed power.

It's a tricky situation. Roman Anthony, baseball's number-one prospect, is on the way soon. The Red Sox's strength was already their outfield. And they've been stingy with payroll of late, while O'Neill could command anywhere from $50-90 million in total depending on how the market values him.

So can the Red Sox really afford to let a 30-homer righty bat walk out the door when he's practically begging to stay? That will be a question for the front office, or perhaps more accurately, for ownership.

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