Red Sox Projected $48 Million Superstar Linked To Royals In Free Agency Surprise
The Kansas City Royals over-delivered on preseason expectations in 2024, but they looked lost in the American League playoffs.
Even though they defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card round, Kansas City's offense didn't look worthy of a playoff team. And against the New York Yankees in the Division Series, that offense was exposed quickly in a 3-1 season-ending series loss.
There are plenty of spots the Royals could look to address, but above all else, they need an outfielder with some thump. No Kansas City outfielder hit 20 or more home runs in 2024, and that only added pressure to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.'s outsized share of the run-scoring duties for this Royals squad.
Fortunately, there's one free-agent outfielder available who could fall perfectly in the Royals' price range this winter.
Buried in a prediction that the Detroit Tigers would be the AL Central's biggest spenders this winter, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller strongly hinted that the Royals could go after Boston Red Sox slugger Tyler O'Neill this winter, adding considerable pop to their languishing outfield.
"The wild card is Kansas City, and to some extent whether Michael Wacha exercises his $16M player option," Miller said.
"If he does, they might just more or less let it ride with what is already looking like a $105M-$110M Opening Day payroll, probably adding a relatively inexpensive reliever or two and not much else. But if they decide to invest in upgrading what was a woeful outfield situation by taking a sizable flyer on Tyler O'Neill, that could sink this prediction in a hurry."
O'Neill, 29, has been in and out of the lineup for the past three seasons due to a littany of injury concerns. But when he was in Boston's lineup this year, he produced in a major way, leading the team with 31 home runs in just 113 games while racking up an. 854 OPS.
After spending over $100 million on free agents and inking Witt to a $270+ million extension last winter, the Royals are unlikely to break the bank again. But O'Neill, who is projected for a three-year, $48 million deal by Spotrac, could fit nicely into the budget.
Signing an injury-prone star like O'Neill is a risk for any team. But for a team with such a clear and obvious need for power like the Royals, it's a risk worth taking every single time.
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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