Nearly two weeks ago, the Boston Red Sox were on the lower tier of contenders for Juan Soto's services.
The Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Blue Jays and Sox were in the running to sign the outfielder, but experts long believed — correctly — that Steve Cohen and the Mets would not be denied. Ultimately, Soto signed with the New York team from Queens, and the Red Sox left the negotiating table with nothing.
Boston's investment in the Soto market distracted it from other suitable, more affordable outfield targets. Former Red Sox Tyler O'Neill is chief among them.
The longtime Cardinal signed a three-year, $49 million deal with the Orioles on Dec. 7 after he expressed interest in remaining with the Sox before the 2024 campaign ended. There was reportedly mutual interest in O'Neill from the Red Sox front office in September, but once it realized there was a chance to have Soto in the pastures, it pivoted to the $765 million man. Then, it seems all interest in O'Neill dissipated completely. The outfielder pinpointed Winter Meetings as the last moment of intrigue from Boston.
Tyler O'Neill could've been an ideal righty bat in the Red Sox's lineup if they weren't caught up in the Juan Soto sweepstakes
“I was surprised in the lack of interest. There was a little bit of interest early on at the GM meetings in November," O'Neill said on the Dec. 17 installment of Rob Bradford's "Baseball Isn't Boring" podcast. "Obviously, every organization is going to be talking to Scott with the player personnel he had coming into the market this year. And and company made it known they were interested in me, but where I fell in the pecking order I have no idea."
O'Neill clearly fell lower in Boston's priorities than Soto, but maybe he shouldn't have. Sure, now the organization can flex and say it tried for Soto, but O'Neill's swing is tailor-made for Fenway Park, and his 31 homers led the team last season.
Some of the available righty power bats slugged more homers than O'Neill — Teoscar Hernández mashed 33 and former Oriole Anthony Santander crushed 44 — but the 29-year-old is the best defender of the group and already had a rapport in the Red Sox clubhouse. He slashed .241/.336/.511 with a .847 OPS as a critical, clutch righty bat in the Sox's lineup.
In the absence of Soto, O'Neill would've been an ideal fit in Boston, and based on the rest of his interview with Bradford, he wished to remain there. But the new dimensions in Camden Yards' left field will suit him well, and O'Neill is ready to have another productive season in the American League East with a new squad.