On the finish of final season, each Tyler O’Neill and Purple Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow expressed curiosity in the potential for O’Neill returning to Boston on a brand new contract. That risk is now formally off the board after O’Neill signed a three-year, $49.5MM cope with the Orioles yesterday, and as per WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford (Bluesky hyperlink), the Sox “weren’t very aggressive” of their makes an attempt to re-sign the outfielder. Boston’s pursuit of Juan Soto merely took priority, the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier writes, as because the Purple Sox are one of many groups nonetheless ready on Soto to make his choice, the Sox didn’t make O’Neill any affords.
Extra from across the AL East…
Talking of the O’Neill signing, the transfer probably closes the door on the potential for Randal Grichuk touchdown in Baltimore, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (X hyperlink) writes that the Orioles had curiosity in Grichuk’s companies. Grichuk would’ve been extra of a clear-cut platoon participant, however like O’Neill, is a right-handed bat who crushes left-handed pitching. This skillset was on full show with the Diamondbacks in 2024, when Grichuk hit .319/.386/.528 in 184 PA in opposition to southpaws. Grichuk turned down a $6MM mutual possibility for 2025 to enter free company, and he figures to attain a stable contract based mostly on his lefty-mashing offense and his potential to at the very least passably play all three outfield positions.
The Blue Jays had curiosity in Clay Holmes earlier than Holmes signed with the Mets earlier this week, in accordance with The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon. Toronto was taking a look at Holmes simply as a reliever, which isn’t stunning given how fixing the bullpen is without doubt one of the Jays’ prime offseason priorities. Holmes hasn’t began a recreation since his rookie yr in 2018, however he’ll transfer again right into a beginning function with the Mets on his new three-year, $38MM contract.
By a 4-3 vote on Thursday, the St. Petersburg metropolis council accredited a deal to difficulty bonds to assist cowl a few of the metropolis’s contribution to the Rays’ new ballpark venture. Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Occasions (separate hyperlinks) seems at each Thursday’s choice and the subsequent step within the course of, which is a Pinellas County Fee assembly on December 17 to approve the bonds and $312.5MM in tourism taxes in direction of the ballpark venture. It isn’t but clear how the county fee will vote, and even within the occasion of a sure vote, the delays in these votes have already led the Rays to threaten to desert the deal altogether and depart the Tampa/St. Pete space, because the crew says it isn’t possible for the ballpark’s opening to be delay till 2029. The preliminary plan noticed the brand new ballpark set to be prepared by Opening Day 2028, however Hurricane Milton’s destruction of the Tropicana Area roof has left the Rays in a brief dwelling of George M. Steinbrenner Area in Tampa in 2025, and unsure about their location for at the very least the 2026-27 seasons.
