The Cardinals traded to the Boston Red Sox, which should help alleviate an outfield logjam and clear a path for two of their young, homegrown corner outfielders — Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker — to start every day.
The move ends an intriguing and frustrating tenure for O’Neill in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. In the process, the Cardinals added a pair of pitchers — a reliever who made his major-league debut in 2023 and a starter who pitched in the upper levels of the minors.
The Red Sox sent , 25, and , 23. Robertson will be added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, while Santos will be assigned to the minors.
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A native of Canada with a chiseled physique and uncommon blend of power and athleticism, O’Neill, 28, displayed the ability to make an impact in multiple facets of the game. However, he dealt with myriad ailments and struggled to stay on the field the past two seasons.
“As we look to add pitching depth, as well as address concerns on potential playing time in the outfield, we felt this deal worked well in addressing both of those issues,†Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in a release from the team. “We are excited to add Nick to our bullpen, and we feel Victor gives us added depth in our minor league system.â€
The Cardinals acquired O’Neill from the Seattle Mariners on July 21, 2017, in exchange for left-handed pitcher Marco Gonzales. O’Neill made made his MLB debut for the Cardinals on April 19, 2018.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound right-handed hitting O’Neill enjoyed a breakout season in 2021. He garnered his second consecutive NL Gold Glove as the best defensive left fielder in the league. He boasted a slash line of .286/.352/.560 with 34 home runs, 80 RBIs and 15 stolen bases.
His 34 home runs were the most ever by a Cardinals left fielder in a season. O’Neill placed eighth in the NL MVP voting that season, ahead of established stars such as Freddie Freeman and Joey Votto.
However, he couldn’t build on that success. Through his first 32 games of 2022, he slashed .195/.256/.297 with two home runs, 20 RBIs, 11 walks and 42 strikeouts. Then in the middle of the May, he went on the injured list with a shoulder injury. He went on the IL twice more during the season with hamstring injuries in late June and September.
He finished the 2022 season with a slash line of .228/.308/.392 with 14 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 96 games. He ranked among the 97th percentile of all major leaguers in sprint speed that season.
This season, O’Neill missed 63 games due to a left lower back strain. He also finished the season on the IL with a right foot sprain. He played in 72 games and slashed .231/.312/.403 with nine home runs and five stolen bases.
O’Neill has played a total of 168 games in the past two seasons and has slashed .229/.310/.397 with 23 home runs and 79 RBIs.
O’Neill enters his final year of eligibility for salary arbitration. He’ll be a free agent following the 2024 season. estimated his 2024 salary as $5.5 million.
The Cardinals’ current projected outfield includes former starting shortstop and former Gold Glove-winning second baseman Tommy Edman slated to start in center field flanked by Nootbaar and Walker.
The left-handed hitting Nootbaar ranked third on the team in wins above replacement (WAR) despite playing just 117 games last season. He’s shown a blend of power and on-base ability that intrigues the Cardinals brass.
Meanwhile, budding young potential star Walker went into last season as the club’s top prospect as well as a Top 100 prospect in all of Minor League Baseball. Walker, 21, jumped straight to the majors despite not playing at the Triple-A level of the minors before this season.
The Cardinals sent Walker down to Triple-A for 29 games last season, but he spent the majority of the year in the majors (117 games) and batted .276 with a .342 on-base percentage, a .445 slugging percentage, 16 home runs and 51 RBIs.
Mozeliak spoke openly about the club’s intentions to trade O’Neill this week at the MLB Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee.
“It’s pretty clear that getting him everyday at-bats is going to be really difficult given the way our outfield we predict will line up,†Mozeliak said. “So when you’re looking at exploring the trade market we could ignore not saying his name, but ... we know it’s out there.
“And when you think about probably what’s best for everybody, it makes sense if we were able to do something. Because, look, he sees himself as an everyday player and, candidly, we do too. When you look at who else we have it’s going to be tough to find those at-bats.â€
O’Neill’s representative, super-agent Scott Boras, offered a snarky retort to Mozeliak’s declaration while speaking to reporters during the Winter Meetings this week.
“Well, Tyler O’Neill is eighth in the MVP voting, 30-plus home runs, won two Gold Gloves,†Boras said. “You know the talent evaluation of the Cardinals, it’s nice to know that they have players that reach higher levels than that I guess. I don’t know.â€
The Red Sox traded starting right fielder Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees earlier this week, and veteran designated hitter Justin Turner (23 home runs, 96 RBIs) and veteran outfielder Adam Duvall (21 home runs, 58 RBIs) are both free agents.
The Los Angeles Dodgers originally drafted the 6-foot-6, 265-pound Robertson in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of James Madison University. The Red Sox acquired him this summer on July 25 in the trade that sent Kiké Hernández to the Dodgers.
In 18 appearances in the majors this season, Robertson posted a 6.04 ERA with 26 strikeouts and nine walks in 22 1/3 innings.
During his career in the minors (150 games), Robertson has registered a 3.61 ERA, 11.26 strikeouts per 9 innings, 2.97 walks per 9 innings, a 1.19 WHIP and .227 opponent’s batting average.
Santos, a 6-foot-1, 222-pound native of the Dominican Republic, began his career in the Philadelphia Phillies organization as an international amateur signing. The Red Sox acquired him in a July 2021 trade for infielder CJ Chatham.
Santos went 10-12 with a 4.97 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, 126 strikeouts and 34 walks in 145 innings in 2022. He’d been a non-roster invitee in major-league spring training camp with the Red Sox this season, but he suffered an elbow injury that sidelined him for the entire minor-league season.
Santos has been pitching in winter ball in the Dominican Republic for Leones del Escogido. In seven appearances (five starts), he has gone 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA, 23 strikeouts and six walks.