Twins tabbed to land $48 million free agent outfielder this winter
One winter after the Minnesota Twins proudly boasted a deep slash in payroll, few Major League Baseball insiders expect the team to be any kind of player in this year’s free agent market.
Despite an epic late-season collapse that saw the team miss out on the postseason for the third time in four years, Twins ownership — testing the waters of a possible franchise sale — seemed unlikely to open the pursestrings in a meaningful way this offseason.
Despite this, Sports Illustrated’s Will Laws and Nick Selbe have tabbed the mediocre Midwest ballclub to make a moderate splash on the open market by signing left fielder Tyler O’Neill away from the Boston Red Sox.
O’Neill has had a somewhat mercurial career over seven MLB seasons. Debuting with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018, the Canadian native appeared on his way to superstar status at the dawn of the current decade.
The 2013 third-round draft pick earned Gold Gloves for defensive prowess in 2020 and 2021. In the latter of those two seasons, O’Neill erupted for 34 home runs and a .286 batting average to finish eighth in the National League Most Valuable Player voting.
However, his numbers declined drastically over the next two seasons, and he was traded to Boston last offseason.
O’Neill rebounded in Beantown in 2024 by hitting 31 homers. What he termed a “scary” leg infection and an assortment of other injuries held him to just 113 games.
The Twins have a mercurial outfield situation of their own, with center fielder Byron Buxton seeming to miss large chunks of each season due to a variety of injuries. He is bookended by young and yet-inconsistent corner outfielders Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner.
Spotrac projects O’Neill’s market value as commanding a contract of three years in the mid-$48 million range.
SI’s Laws and Selbe note that O’Neill’s current subpar defensive skills — a far cry from his Gold Glove seasons — project him leaning toward being a designated hitter as his career goes forward.
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