Twins predicted to sign injury-prone righty slugger in free agency

Tyler O'Neill would be a big-time pickup for the Twins if he can stay healthy.

Sep 23, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox designated hitter Tyler O'Neill (17) makes contact with the ball during the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Will the Twins add another injury-prone star to their core this offseason? Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly predicts that Minnesota will sign outfielder Tyler O'Neill, who is a righty bat with massive power and a lengthy track record of injuries. The contract projection for O'Neill, who is B/R's 19th-ranked free agent, is two years and $28 million with a player opt-out after the first year.

O'Neill is coming off of an excellent season with the Red Sox, in which he mashed 31 home runs in just 113 games. He was fantastic when he was on the field, recording a 132 OPS+ and finishing in the 98th percentile in barrel percentage, according to Baseball Savant. O'Neill was particularly dominant against left-handed pitching, hitting .313 with a 1.180 OPS and 16 of his home runs in 156 plate appearances against lefties.

ANOTHER 2 HOMER NIGHT FOR TYLER O’NEILL!

TWICE IN HIS LAST 4 GAMES!

465 FT! 112.9 MPH EV! pic.twitter.com/vJN5YD8TFh

— Tyler Milliken ⚾️ (@tylermilliken_) July 24, 2024

113 games were the most O'Neill has played since his breakout 2021 season with the Cardinals, when he finished 8th in NL MVP voting and looked like a future superstar. He played in 138 games that year and hit 34 homers, stole 15 bases, had a 148 OPS+, and racked up 6.1 WAR. But in 2022 and '23, the 29-year-old Canadian was limited to a combined 168 games and put up below-league-average numbers at the plate.

The Twins' best hitters — Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, and Royce Lewis — all already struggle with staying on the field, so adding O'Neill wouldn't help in that regard. But for a team that's working under payroll restrictions, those are the risks you might have to take. If the Twins could get the healthy, peak version of O'Neill, he'd be worth a lot more than the contract he's going to get this offseason. He has easy 40-homer power and is also a two-time Gold Glove winner in left field. He has a high strikeout rate, but so do most of the league's sluggers.

The Twins would have to shed some salary this offseason to be able to afford O'Neill, but he'd be a great fit if they can do so. They could use some righty pop in their corner outfield spots alongside Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach, who would likely compete for the right field job with O'Neill starting in left.

As far as notable free agent signings go, something like this is about as big as it could get for the Twins this offseason.