Blue Jays picked as landing spot for slugging Canadian outfielder

Over the years, the Toronto Blue Jays have managed to recruit and ultimately bring home some Canadian blood to add to their roster during free agency. Whether it was Corey Koskie, Russell Martin or even Joey Votto, the Jays were hoping for them to have a significant impact in their big league lineup to help lead the way to winning and success.

For this offseason, with the Jays looking for some outfield help, they now have another opportunity to do the same for a big-time slugging Canadian outfielder. That is because Tyler O’Neill has recently been tabbed as a potential fit for the Jays by MassLive’s Sean McAdam.

From the Jays’ perspective, the potential signing sure would make sense. After all, O’Neill is a two-time Gold Glove winner, along with once finishing eighth in NL MVP voting back in 2021. During that year, he posted career-best numbers in batting average (.286), OPS (.912), runs (89), hits (138), doubles (26), home runs (34), RBI (80), stolen bases (15) and total bases (270). With that breakout season, O’Neill appeared to be well on his way in becoming an elite, star player in the league.

However, his unfortunate run into a slew of injuries in the next two seasons that followed significantly set him back, as he struggled to produce both offensively and even defensively at times as well. Nevertheless, O’Neill has managed to revitalize his career to some extent last season after signing on with the Boston Red Sox. In 113 games played, despite some minor ailments along the way, he batted .241 with an .847 OPS, along with 74 runs scored, 18 doubles, 31 home runs, 61 RBI, while walking a career high 53 times in 411 at-bats. More importantly, his peripheral advanced statistical metrics was strong, with his xSLG, barrel rate, hard hit rate and bat speed all ranked in the 90th percentile or higher in the league in 2024.

In addition, O’Neill may no longer be a perennial Gold Glove contender, but he can sure still hold his own with his solid glove in the outfield. With the ability to also produce at a 30+ home run and 60+ RBI clip per season once again, he would be the perfect candidate for the Jays to add to help bolster the offensive potential in their lineup in 2025 and beyond. More significantly, they will be able to do so without sacrificing much defensively in the process.

Should O’Neill put most of his injury issues behind him, at just the young age of 29, he should have many productive years still ahead of him. On top of that, he shouldn’t blow the Jays’ bank like a Juan Soto would likely do, leaving them with plenty of resources left to fill other roster needs. As a result, the sneaky addition of O’Neill has the potential of being a low-risk, high reward move for the Jays.