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The first busy months on the job for Boston Red Sox general manager Craig Breslow involved another trade on Friday when the Red Sox agreed to release Tyler O’Neill from the St. Louis Cardinals to trade for RHP Nick Robertson and minor league RHP Victor Santos.
Red Sox officially announced that they acquired OF Tyler O’Neill from the St. Louis Cardinals, in exchange for RHP Nick Robertson and minor league RHP Victor Santos.
– Jen McCaffrey (@jcmccaffrey) December 8, 2023
O’Neill, 28, slashed .231/.312/.403 with nine home runs and five steals in 71 games last year. The two-time Gold Glove winner’s best season came in 2021, when he slashed .286/.352/.560 with 34 home runs and 15 steals. and finished eighth in the National League MVP Award race.
It’s been less than a week since Boston traded shortstop Alex Verdugo to the New York Yankees for three prospects.
Robertson, 25, appeared in nine games for Boston last season, posting a 6.00 ERA in 12 innings. He made his debut in 2023 with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was sent to Boston in the trade that brought Kiké Hernández back to Los Angeles. Santos, 22, has been in the Red Sox system since 2021 and reached as high as Triple-A Worcester in 2022. He missed the entire 2023 season due to injuries.
Why the Cardinals traded O’Neill
Desperate to mitigate an out-of-state settlement that is ultimately hurting the roster, baseball president John Mozeliak has been clear about his intent to sell O’Neill, who is entering his senior season. last before free agency and should earn about $5.5 million in. judgment, per MLB Trade Rumors.
“Getting him every day at-bat is going to be very difficult because of the way our outfield, we predict, will line up,” Mozeliak told the team. writer in St. Louis on Monday at MLB’s Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn. looking at exploring the trade market… and when you think about what’s best for everyone in the end, it might make sense if we do something.
“(O’Neill) sees himself as an everyday player, and rightly so do we, but when you look at who else we have, it’s going to be hard to find those skins.”
Mozeliak explained that the Cardinals projected starting outfield next year will be Lars Nootbaar in left field, Tommy Edman in center and Jordan Walker in right field, with Dylan Carlson slated to be a reliever. That left O’Neill out of the mix. With St. Louis is focused on improving the bullpen, the plan is to focus on helping a return.
“Obviously we felt like we took care of a lot of our starting needs before coming down (to Nashville),” Mozeliak said. “But we’re still looking at ways we can improve the club. It’s no secret that we want to try to move one of the buyers to try to negotiate some of those things. — Katie Woo, Cardinals staff writer
What Boston has in O’Neill
Three days after trading Verdugo to the Yankees, the Red Sox added another outfielder to O’Neill.
O’Neill is a right-handed outside hitter who has battled injuries the past few seasons, but figures to balance out a lefty-heavy lineup for the Red Sox. If healthy he could hit 34 home runs in 2021 despite only hitting 23 the past two years. O’Neill hit .231 with a .715 OPS in 72 games last year and will play in 96 games in 2022 after his breakout year in 2021 when he played 138 games. hit .286 with a .915 OPS.
Team information indicated he would play all three outfield positions. Sharing time in left with Masataka Yoshida while the Red Sox have Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela as options in center and Wilyer Abreu is likely to dominate right field. Rob Refnsyder remains the fourth character.
Like Verdugo, O’Neill is entering his final year of eligibility and acquiring him opens the door for the Red Sox to give Rafael more playing time in 2025 and beyond. outfielder Roman Anthony, one of the best prospects, who seems to be close to the 2025 start.
Verdugo was scheduled to make $9 million in court, so O’Neill’s $5.5 million salary saved the Red Sox $3.5 million to spend elsewhere on the roster.
As O’Neill struggled with injuries, the Red Sox didn’t have to give up key pieces of their major league roster. Robertson was one of two pitchers the Red Sox acquired from the Dodgers in the Kiké Hernandez trade last summer. With the peak of the bullet his role as an assistant in the middle was questioned. Santos, 23, missed the entire 2023 season with a right elbow injury after receiving an invitation to major league camp. In 101 career minor league appearances, the right-hander posted a 3.72 ERA. He was not in the top 60 in the organization on SoxProspects.com. — Jen McCaffrey, Red Sox staff writer
Required reading
(Photo: Jeff Robinson / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)