Red Sox trade for 2-time Gold Glove OF O'Neill from Cards
Ian Browne
@IanMBrowneBOSTON -- The Red Sox filled a key area of need on Friday night, adding the right-handed bat of Tyler O'Neill to their outfield via a trade with the Cardinals.
In exchange for O¡¯Neill, a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, the Sox traded a pair of depth arms in Nick Robertson and Minor League righty Victor Santos.
TRADE DETAILS
Red Sox receive: OF Tyler O'Neill
Cardinals receive:?RHP Nick Robertson, RHP Victor Santos
Robertson, a righty, came to the Sox last July in the deal that sent Kik¨¦ Hern¨¢ndez back to the Dodgers. Santos didn¡¯t pitch last year as he recovered from an elbow injury.
With O¡¯Neill, the Red Sox balance out an outfield that has three left-handed hitters in Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu. O¡¯Neill joins Rob Refsnyder as right-handed-hitting outfielders who manager Alex Cora will have at his disposal.
With O¡¯Neill on board, it seems more likely than not that Ceddanne Rafaela, MLB Pipeline's No. 3 Red Sox prospect and a brilliant defender in center field, will open the season at Triple-A.
The Sox traded veteran Alex Verdugo, another left-handed hitter, to the Yankees earlier this week for three right-handers.
Boston¡¯s hope is that the 28-year-old O¡¯Neill, who hails from British Columbia, can recapture his form from 2021, when he had a slash line of .286/.352/.560 with 34 homers, 80 RBIs and 15 stolen bases to finish eighth in National League MVP Award voting. That was the second year in a row that O¡¯Neill earned a Gold Glove for his excellence in left field.
The past two seasons, O¡¯Neill¡¯s playing time dipped, largely due to injuries.
Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said during the Winter Meetings earlier this week that the club was likely to trade O¡¯Neill because it had decided to go forward with a starting outfield of Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman and Jordan Walker, with Dylan Carlson serving as the primary backup in 2024.
O¡¯Neill made no secret of his desire to play every day, and the Cardinals agreed he deserved that chance, which played a role in the club trading him.
There was also his contract situation to consider. O¡¯Neill is entering his final season before free agency and earned $4.95 million last season. Per Cot¡¯s Contracts, O¡¯Neill is projected to make $5.85 million if he goes to arbitration this winter.
It remains to be seen which outfield position O¡¯Neill will play in Boston. The club could also move him around. In his career, O¡¯Neill has made 324 career starts in left, 36 in center and 12 in right.
Given O¡¯Neill¡¯s athleticism and arm strength, the Red Sox might consider it a waste to play him in left, where there isn¡¯t much ground to cover or throw. Though 2023 wasn¡¯t a good one for O¡¯Neill at the plate (.231, nine homers in 238 at-bats), he ranked in the Majors¡¯ 89th percentile in arm strength and 80th percentile in sprint speed.
With O¡¯Neill on board, the expectation is that Yoshida will spend more time at designated hitter than he did in his rookie season.