It can't get much worse for the Baltimore Orioles, which currently sit 12 games under .500 and counting. The O's are in last place in the AL East. Brandon Hyde is on the hot seat. Every Mike Elias decision is backfiring. And the few moves Baltimore actually made this winter to improve the roster are struggling – that includes outfielder Tyler O'Neill.
O'Neill is a former St. Louis Cardinals top prospect who has struggled to stay healthy. He had an impressive stint with the Boston Red Sox to increase his value on the free-agent market, as the two-time gold glove winner accumulated 2.6 WAR in 2024. O'Neill appeared to be a decent addition at the time, but the Orioles and Elias surely expected more production than they've gotten from him so far this season, especially at the plate. O'Neill is hitting under the Mendoza line, and while he's still a solid defensive outfielder, Baltimore has not received the 31-home run power they paid for.
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Tyler O'Neill hasn't been worth the money for the Orioles
In fact, the O's have received the worst of O'Neill in just about every way. He's been inconsistent at the plate when healthy, sure, but he's also spent time on the injured list this season already. To the surprise of no one but O's fans, O'Neill went on the IL with neck soreness in late April.
“[O'Neill] has been dealing with that probably since last week. … We need to get him right, need to get him fully healthy," Hyde said at the time. “He missed a couple games earlier with a similar issue in his neck. It was improving, and he tried to play on it, but it’s continuing to bother him a little bit. So, I think the right thing to do is to try and get him healthy and back.”
I don't mean to give away the plot, but the Orioles have not been able to get him right, if you will. While O'Neill has returned from the injured list, he's performing just as poorly as he was in late April. Orioles fans don't ask for much, but hitting .200 is a baseline for any player, especially one that is being paid near $50 million for the next three seasons.
The O's have plenty of players to blame for their poor start, and O'Neill deserves to be at the top of that list.