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SARASOTA—Tyler O’Neill was supposed to play his first game for the Orioles on Monday. O’Neill, who signed as a free agent in December, was ready to play right field and bat fourth. The game was canceled because of rain, and his debut will come on Tuesday.
O’Neill signed a three-year, $49.5 million contract with an opt-out after 2025. He’s well acquainted with the Orioles from playing against them with the Boston Red Sox.
“It was always chasing Baltimore last year, playing in the AL East,” he said. “I was familiar with the division. Baltimore is a team to beat, so obviously when they had interest in me early in the offseason, I was excited about that.”
The 29-year-old from British Columbia will become the first Canadian to play for the Orioles since Adam Loewen in 2008. A muscular 5 feet 11, 200 pounds, O’Neill doesn’t hide his muscles or his enthusiasm.
“Just really excited to join these guys and get going,” he said. “Starting to learn my teammates and understand my surroundings and getting to know the staff has been a good process so far. Just going keep that going and see what we can do together.”
Manager Brandon Hyde has noticed O’Neill’s physique.
“He’s obviously really strong, and he likes to wear tight shirts. It’s noticeable,” Hyde said, laughing.
From 2018-2023, O’Neill was with the St. Louis Cardinals, winning two Gold Gloves in left field. He joined the Red Sox last year and hit .241 with an .847 OPS, 31 home runs and 61 RBIs in 113 games.
O’Neill has observed the additions by the American League East teams, and he’s eager to see how the Orioles measure up.
“The whole division has made really good progress,” he said. “Each team has made acquisitions and bolstered their rosters, just like what we have here.”
O’Neill is wearing No. 9 with the Orioles, a number that has special meaning to him but couldn’t be worn with the Red Sox because Ted Williams’ number has long been retired.
O’Neill’s daughter was born on January 9th, and his son on September 30th. He was able to convince first base and outfield coach Anthony Sanders to swap numbers. Sanders now has No. 55.
The Orioles signed three new outfielders as free agents — O’Neill in December, Dylan Carlson, a former teammate with the Cardinals, in January, and Ramón Laureano. O’Neill and Laureano are right-handed hitters. Carlson a switch-hitter.
The team’s incumbent outfielders, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and Cedric Mullins, bat left-handed.
O’Neill has played mostly left field, but he can play right and center. Last year, he hit .313 with an 1.180 OPS against left-handed hitters. He hit 16 homers in 156 plate appearance against lefties, nearly one in every 10. The Orioles have moved in the left-field wall at Camden Yards — 20 feet in some spots and as few at 9 in others — after extending it by nearly 30 feet in 2022.
“It was definitely an extreme version of what it should be the past two years,” O’Neill said. “It’s just tough for a guy like me, a player profile like me to consider producing there for 81 games with the way the fence dimensions were. It was very appealing that they moved those walls in to more fair dynamic and looking forward to seeing what kind of dynamic I can do down there.”
O’Neill is a hockey fan and grew up a big Vancouver Canucks supporter. Now, he can’t get enough of watching the Washington Capitals, especially since Alex Ovechkin in closing in on the all-time goals mark of Wayne Gretzky. Ovechkin has 882 goals, putting him 13 away from surpassing Gretzky’s total of 894.
O’Neill’s goal is to help his new team..
“I haven’t talked to Brandon too much about what that’s going to look like,” he said. “I’m just trying to get my work in right now and get my feet under me. Availability-wise, I can do whatever he asks me to do. I just want to be able to contribute as best as I can to this team.”
Notes: Charlie Morton will start for the Orioles against the Detroit Tigers’ Jackson Jobe on Tuesday at 1:05 p.m. at Ed Smith Stadium. Jobe is MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 prospect. Dean Kremer, who was scheduled to start on Monday, will also pitch. …The Orioles and Washington Nationals will play a final exhibition game on March 24th at Nationals Park at 1:05 p.m.
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