Red Sox Acquire Tyler O'Neill from Cardinals: What to Make of Trade

Just a few days after the Red Sox traded away a veteran outfielder, Boston picked up one in Tyler O’Neill. The Red Sox have reportedly acquired Tyler O’Neill in a trade with the Cardinals, a team that was looking to move the former top prospect. Here’s a look at O’Neill, plus the two players that went the other way.

The Red Sox’s Return

OF Tyler O’Neill (.231/.312/.403, 9 HR and 23 XBH over 72 G)

The Cardinals acquired outfielder Tyler O’Neill — at the time a top prospect — in 2017 when St. Louis traded away Marco Gonzales to Seattle. Oddly enough, both players were moved during the 2023-24 offseason.

O’Neill made his MLB debut in 2018 and put up rather solid numbers in a small sample size. The 28-year-old belted nine home runs and 14 extra-base hits across 142 plate appearances in what looked to be a taste of things to come. Injuries in 2019 and a rough 2020 campaign pushed down his stock a bit, but O’Neill brought it right back up in 2021.

O’Neill broke out in a big way in 2021, as the Canadian belted 34 home runs and owned a .912 OPS across 138 games (537 PA). But yet again, injuries prevented O’Neill from eclipsing the 100-game marker in 2022 and 2023.

From a tools standpoint, O’Neill has it all. Tyler possesses plus raw power and strength, which shouldn’t come as a shock given that his father is Terry O’Neill, the former Mr. Canada. Not to mention, the 28-year-old does have plus speed and arm strength and is a two-time Gold Glove winner.

However, it hasn’t all come together for O’Neill thus far. Part of it is because of health, as O’Neill has had only two healthy seasons in his six-year MLB career: 2020 and 2021.

At the same time, O’Neill struggled immensely with strikeouts and the breaking ball despite above-average discipline.

Before the trade, new Red Sox Tyler O’Neill had one year of control left before becoming a free agent.

The Cardinals’ Return

RP Nick Robertson (6.04 ERA, 26 K over 22.1 IP)
SP Victor Santos (Did not pitch in 2023)

St. Louis got two pitchers back in the O’Neill trade, neither of whom are big names. However, one of the two has pitched in the Majors to this point.

That individual would be Nick Robertson, who was dealt for the second time in the calendar year. Robertson was acquired by the Red Sox this past summer in the Enrique Hernandez trade.

The 25-year-old right-hander boasts a fastball/changeup combo that’s yielded him plenty of whiffs in his early MLB career. Robertson’s mid-90s fastball did get hit around a bit in the Majors this past season, but opposing hitters hacked and missed it 26.2% of the time.

The other piece to this deal is former Phillies prospect Victor Santos, who Boston acquired in July 2021 via trade. Santos made it as high as Triple-A in the Red Sox system in 2022 but did not pitch this past year.

Santos has, however, been throwing in the Dominican Winter League during the 2023-24 campaign. The 23-year-old went 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA and a 23:6 K:BB ratio through 27.1 frames as of this writing.

Analysis

A Tyler O’Neill trade was expected, as Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak stated during the Winter Meetings that St. Louis was listening on the 28-year-old.

St. Louis has Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker, and Dylan Carlson on the MLB roster, plus utilitymen Tommy Edman and Brendan Donovan — both of whom have outfield experience. Given that and O’Neill’s pending free agency, the Cardinals likely felt comfortable moving on from the oft-injured 28-year-old.

The Cardinals did get an intriguing reliever in the deal in Robertson, one who has been able to get batters out in his young MLB career despite a career ERA of 6.04.

As for the Red Sox, Boston gets a right-handed hitting outfielder to complement their current core of Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, and Wilyer Abreu. O’Neill is virtually set to take over Adam Duvall‘s role on the team, and his plus power and pull-leaning tendencies do make him a very nice fit for Fenway.

It’s a low-risk move for the Sox given the cost, and one that allows O’Neill to get a fresh start.