What Cardinals Exec Believes Red Sox Will Get In Tyler O’Neill

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made multiple trades in his first season with the Red Sox, and one of the most intriguing was buying low on Tyler O’Neill.

The 28-year-old was acquired from the Cardinals for Nick Robertson and Victor Santos. He is a two-time Gold Glove winner and finished in the top 10 in National League MVP voting in 2021. The former St. Louis outfielder hopes to recapture his form after a down season in 2023, and he received support from his former team this week.

“He’s uber-talented,” Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo on Thursday. “He’s a guy that, when you think back just a couple of years, he was getting upper ballot MVP votes. Two things: He’s got to be able to stay healthy and he’s got to perform. But I do think he’s an amazing talent.”

O’Neill had a 148 OPS+ in 2021, and he was plus-11 in defensive runs saved and plus-4 in outs above average. His athleticism would serve as a solid outfield depth option after Alex Verdugo was traded to the New York Yankees.

“Have you met him yet? He’s well put together,” Mozeliak noted when asked about O’Neill’s injury history. “When you look at that physique relative to other baseball players, it is a little different.”

Manager Alex Cora told reporters this week at spring training that the Red Sox have a good idea of what the Opening Day lineup will look like. O’Neill isn’t projected to be one of Boston’s starting outfielders, but he and Rob Refsnyder will be relied upon in specific situations as the Red Sox hope to turn things around after two straight last-place finishes in the American League East.