AL East Notes: O’Neill, Estrada, Holmes, Rays

At the end of last season, both Tyler O’Neill And Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow expressed interest in the possibility of O’Neill returning to Boston with a new contract. That possibility is now officially ruled out after O’Neill signed a three-year, $49.5 million deal with the Orioles yesterday and, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (Bluesky link), the Sox “haven’t been very aggressive” in their attempts. were to re-sign the outfielder. Boston’s pursuit of it Juan Soto simply took priority, writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, because since the Red Sox are among the teams still waiting for Soto to make his decision, the Sox made no offers to O’Neill.

More from across the AL East…

• Speaking of O’Neill’s signing, the move likely closes the door on the possibility of such a signing Randal Grichuk Landing in Baltimore, as Mark Feinsand (X-Link) of MLB.com writes Orioles was interested in Grichuk’s services. Grichuk would have been more of a clear platoon player, but like O’Neill, he is a right-handed hitter who destroys left-handed pitching. Those skills were on full display with the Diamondbacks in 2024, when Grichuk hit .319/.386/.528 in 184 PA against southpaws. Grichuk declined a $6 million mutual option for 2025 to enter free agency, and he expects to receive a solid contract based on his left-handed offense and his ability to at least passably play all three outfield positions to play.
• The Blue Jays was interested in it Clay Holmes before Holmes signed with the Mets earlier this week, according to Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic. Toronto viewed Holmes as merely a backup player, which isn’t surprising considering that fixing the bullpen is one of the Jays’ top offseason priorities. Holmes hasn’t started a game since his rookie year in 2018, but his new three-year, $38 million contract will see him return to a starting role with the Mets.
• By a 4-3 vote, the St. Petersburg City Council on Thursday approved a deal to issue bonds to cover part of the city’s contribution Rays‘ new baseball project. Colleen Wright of the Tampa Bay Times (separate links) covers both Thursday’s decision and the next step in the process, a Dec. 17 meeting of the Pinellas County Commission to consider the bonds and $312.5 million. Approve dollars in tourism taxes for the baseball stadium project. It’s not yet clear how the county commission will vote, and even if they vote yes, delays in those votes have already led to the Rays threatening to abandon the deal altogether and the Tampa/St. Pete territory as the team says delaying the ballpark’s opening to 2029 is not feasible. The original plan called for the new ballpark to be completed by Opening Day 2028, but the destruction of the Tropicana Field roof by Hurricane Milton has left the Rays in a temporary home at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa in 2025 uncertain about their location for at least the 2026-27 season.