Red Sox Pull Off Trade For Two-Time Gold Glove Outfielder

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow already traded away an outfielder earlier this week by sending Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees.

But on Friday, Breslow reportedly added to Boston’s outfield mix by orchestrating a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Red Sox landed two-time Gold Glove winner Tyler O’Neill from the Cardinals in exchange for right-handed pitching prospects Nick Robertson and Victor Santos, per a team announcement. The Red Sox acquired Robertson in the deal that sent Kiké Hernández to the Los Angeles Dodgers this past summer. Santos pitched for Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester during the 2022 season but didn’t pitch at all this past season due to injury.

O’Neill, who had spent all six of his seasons in the big leagues with the Cardinals, primarily plays left field, but also can move other to center. The 28-year-old won his Gold Glove awards in consecutive seasons, doing so in 2020 and 2021.

Injury limited O’Neill to just 72 games this past season as he hit .238 with nine home runs and 21 RBIs. He only played in 96 games the season prior after putting together the best season of his career in 2021 when he finished eighth in National League MVP voting. O’Neill batted .286 with an eye-popping 34 home runs and 80 RBIs to go along with 15 stolen bases that year.

O’Neill doesn’t have much experience playing at Fenway Park, having suited up for just three games there in his career. He went 6-for-12 at the plate with a homer in those contests.

O’Neill now joins a Red Sox outfield group that already features Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Rob Refsnyder and Masataka Yoshida on the 40-man roster.