It appears that the Red Sox are rebuilding their outfield. After already trading Alex Verdugo earlier this week to the New York Yankees. The Red Sox have now added Tyler O’Neill from the St. Louis Cardinals.

O’Neill, 29, has had an unpredictable career. He rose through the ranks with the Seattle Mariners before being traded to St. Louis in exchange for Marco Gonzales. In 2021, he showed a tremendous ceiling. Where he hit .286/ .352/ .560 with 34 home runs in 138 games. He finished with a wRC+ of 143 and had strong grades in both the outfield and his speed. He stole 15 bases that year. Baseball-Reference tallied him at 6.1 WAR.

Since then though, Tyler O’Neill has been bombarded with injuries.  In the past two seasons, O’Neill has hit the injured list due to a right shoulder impingement, a left hamstring strain, a lower back strain and a right foot sprain. He has played 168 games in that span but the stats have been less impressive, producing a .229 / .310 / .397 with just 23 home runs and a below-average wRC+ of 93.

O’Neill fell out of the rotation in St. Louis and had become less favored by Oli Marimol. In fact, the two had gotten to into a public argument about whether or not the outfielder is giving his full effort.

The Fit In Boston

Before the trade, the Red Sox had three lefties who were projected to start: Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu. O’Neill provides a little bit of a different approach. The first positive is that hes a right-handed bat. The club wanted to find a right-handed bat who has the potential to play center field. O’Neill provides that, although he’s primarily a left-fielder. If he can stay healthy he could play center and provide at best league average stats for the Red Sox.

He probably won’t be the plan A in center, but provides some insurance in case Rob Refsnyder or another outfielder goes down with an injury. With him becoming a free agent after the 2024 season, O’Neill likely won’t be a long-term option. The trade comes at a low price that he only cost the Red Sox right-handers Nick Robertson and Victor Santos.

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