Red Sox Projected $45M Superstar Predicted To Sign Blockbuster Deal With Royals
Will the Kansas City Royals step up to land a big bat in free agency this winter?
It was an exciting 2024 season for the Royals, which resulted in an unexpected playoff berth and Wild Card Series win over the Baltimore Orioles. But ultimately, Kansas City found out it didn't have the offensive firepower to compete with the New York Yankees in the Division Series.
The Royals could be among the favorites to win the American League pennant in 2025, but only if they do something to upgrade their offense. Specifically, the outfield was a massive liability for Kansas City, with no qualified hitters posting even league-average offensive metrics.
Enter Tyler O'Neill of the Boston Red Sox, who had a bounce-back season in 2024 after missing much of the previous two years due to injuries. Jack Oliver of Jomboy Media, better known as "Jolly Olive," recently predicted that O'Neill would sign in Kansas City on a two-year deal this winter.
"Tyler O'Neill, I have him going back to Missouri but for the Royals this time, for two big reasons," Oliver said.
"One, the Royals were very bad against left-handed pitchers last year... I don't know if you're seen O'Neill's lefty-righty splits; they are absurd. He had a .693 OPS against lefties and a 1.180 against righties."
"And then their outfield offensive production was not good and O'Neill hit 20 home runs last year. You just hope that he doesn't get injured."
With 31 home runs, seven multi-homer games, and an .854 OPS, O'Neill was one of the more dynamic right-handed hitters in baseball this season when healthy. Adding him to the middle of the Royals lineup would make Kansas City much scarier to face, especially for lefty hurlers.
O'Neill would likely improve the Royals defense in the outfield, too, though the 29-year-old had a down year by his two-time Gold Glove standards. MJ Melendez has been extremely poor in left field during his Royals career, and O'Neill could allow Melendez to spend most of his time as a designated hitter.
Tim Britton of The Athletic projects a three-year, $45 million contract for O'Neill, which could make him a better fit for K.C.'s budget than Teoscar Hernández or Anthony Santander. And on any given day, O'Neill could also be the best hitter of the bunch.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org