How New Report Impacts Red Sox’s Very Important Tyler O’Neill Decision

The Red Sox have an important decision to make with a star slugger, and a new report added more intrigue to it.

Boston’s top brass opened up about the idea of re-signing Tyler O’Neill, who was one of the club’s top batters with 31 home runs in 2024. The 29-year-old was open to coming back to the Red Sox, and the two sides are expected to meet and discuss a potential return.

The Red Sox could bring O’Neill back by offering the impending free agent a qualifying offer, which is expected to reach its highest level in history. According to ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, MLB’s qualifying offer will be $21.05 million. It was $20.325 million last year, according to MLB Trade Rumors. What does this mean for Boston?

The qualifying offer is a one-year contract that teams can offer qualified free agents, which O’Neill is. If a player rejects the qualifying offer and signs with another team, the original team will acquire draft compensation.

No player accepted their qualifying offer last season, but top free agents like Juan Soto and Pete Alonso are expected to be candidates. The Red Sox can choose to bring back O’Neill on the qualifying offer, which the outfielder could accept as a short-term transaction and maintain flexibility for his future.

Teams must decide on qualifying offers by five days after the World Series, so as fans enjoy the Fall Classic, they’ll also keep their eyes glued on the start of the offseason.