Red Sox Slugger Could Make Perfect Sense For Royals To Add Needed Power
The Kansas City Royals surprisingly aren't far away from being one of the top contenders in the American League.
Kansas City has shocked the baseball world this year and likely will be in the postseason. If the Royals capitalize and have a solid offseason, they could take an even larger step forward in 2025. Kansas City spent the last offseason adding intriguing players on prove-it deals.
Things have worked out for the Royals this season. Kansas City likely will take a similar approach this upcoming offseason and one player who could make some sense is Boston Red Sox outfielder Tyler O'Neill.
O'Neill will be a free agent and Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter predicted that Boston will move on from him.
"Prediction: Move on," Reuter said. "The Red Sox bought low on Tyler O'Neill during the offseason when he was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals, and he has proven to be one of the best pickups of the winter, posting a 135 OPS+ with 25 home runs and 2.4 WAR in 94 games.
"Now they would be wise to let someone else pay for that performance. The 29-year-old has only played over 100 games in a season once in his career while dealing with a wide variety of injuries, and in a market that is thin on impact bats, he should have no problem at least matching the five-year, $75 million deal that Andrew Benintendi got a few years ago."
O'Neill would fill a big need with the Royals. Kansas City needs a boost in the outfielder and O'Neill will be one of the top options available. But, he likely won't land a massive deal due to injury concerns. He has looked great for the Red Sox this year, but if he goes elsewhere, Kansas City should be near the top of the list.
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