Red Sox TV analyst Lou Merloni says it’ll be important for the Orioles to manage outfielder Tyler O’Neill’s playing time given his injury history — even when he’s producing at the plate — to get the most out of him throughout a full season.
O’Neill, 29, signed a three-year contract with Baltimore in December that includes an opt-out after the 2025 season. The 5-foot-10, 210-pound outfielder spent the first six years of his big league career in St. Louis and the 2024 season in Boston. His best years came with the Cardinals in 2021, when he hit .286/.352/.560 with 34 home runs, and with the Red Sox in 2024, when he hit .241/.336/.511 with 31 home runs.
However, thanks to a variety of ailments, those are the only two years of his career in which O’Neill has even appeared in 100 games. Even last year, a knee injury, leg infection and finger inflammation held him to 113 contests. The Orioles will have to keep an eye on O’Neill, according to Merloni.
“I really enjoyed the guy. I enjoyed being around him. He can be an impact bat,” Merloni said on Glenn Clark Radio March 31. “The thing with Tyler is really the games played. You’ve really got to take care of him. You’ve got to make sure he’s on the field. There’s an injury history there.”
O’Neill has gotten off to a fast start with Baltimore, getting on base 10 times in 17 plate appearances. He homered in his sixth consecutive Opening Day, extending a record:
O’Neill comes to Baltimore with a reputation for crushing left-handed pitching. A career .273/.378/.549 hitter against southpaws, the right-handed hitter was even better a year ago with the help of the Green Monster: .313/.430/.750. However, there’s a lot of swing and miss in O’Neill’s game, as evidenced by a 30.6 percent career strikeout rate.
“He’s the type of guy that can hit you five, six home runs in a week and then come out next time and maybe go 1-for-23 with 17 strikeouts,” said Merloni, who can be heard on NESN’s Red Sox broadcasts. “It’s really hit or miss sometimes and was kind of streaky last year, still put up 30 home runs. He helped this club win, but I think it’s really about managing his time — even when he’s hot. You may have to give him that extra day with a day off just to kind of rest that body a little bit.”
Aside from signing O’Neill, the Orioles made a series of one-year acquisitions this past offseason: catcher Gary Sánchez, outfielders Dylan Carlson and Ramón Laureano and pitchers Kyle Gibson, Andrew Kittredge, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano.
O’Neill was signed in part to replace the departing Anthony Santander, but none of the pitchers signed can fill the shoes of ace Corbin Burnes, who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks for six years and $210 million.
Merloni was underwhelmed by the Orioles’ offseason.
“I felt like once you made that trade for Corbin Burnes, you guys were about to take off and sign him to an extension and then maybe trade some more young guys for veteran pieces and really take the organization to another level,” said Merloni, a big league infielder from 1998-2006. “Instead, I feel like it’s kind of gone backward. You’re just relying on young kids — extremely talented. However, I just think you need forces. I think you need veterans. I thought they were going to start spending. They haven’t locked up anybody. They haven’t signed anybody big. I just expected more.”
For more from Merloni, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles