How Red Sox ‘Surprised’ Tyler O’Neill Before Joining Orioles

As the 2024 season came to a close, there was mutual interest between Tyler O’Neill and the Red Sox to maintain their working relationship going forward.

A new deal never came to pass, however.

After not receiving a qualifying offer from Boston last month, O’Neill was one of the first notable free agents to leave the open market. The veteran outfielder left the Red Sox after one productive campaign on Jersey Street to sign a three-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

O’Neill reportedly never received an offer from Boston, largely because the club focused on trying to sign Juan Soto. While the slugger understood the Red Sox’s fixation on the generational outfielder, he was still surprised by the lack of offseason conversation.

“I was surprised in the lack of interest,” O’Neill told Rob Bradford on the “Baseball Isn’t Boring” podcast. “There was a little bit of interest early on at the GM meetings in November. Obviously, every organization is going to be talking to Scott (Boras) with the player personnel he had coming into the market this year. And Bres (Craig Breslow) and company made it known they were interested in me, but where I fell in the pecking order I have no idea. I don’t know if I was second or fourth or fifth or whatever they looked like. So it never got to numbers. It never got to anything serious. It is what it is.”

O’Neill admitted Baltimore previously wasn’t on his radar as a potential destination, as Camden Yards hasn’t been the most favorable ballpark for right-handed hitters. But with the stadium’s left-field wall now moved in a bit, the 29-year-old feels more confident in his chances of thriving with the O’s.

The two-time Gold Glove Award winner won’t have to wait long into the regular season to square off with his old team, as the Red Sox will visit the Orioles for a three-game series starting March 31.