It did not take long for the Cardinals to leave the Winter Meetings and find the pitching-oriented deal they wanted, just as it took only a few days for the Boston Red Sox to move an outfielder and replace him with a Cardinal.
Tyler O’Neill, an outfielder with the Cardinals, was moved to Boston in exchange for two pitchers, only one of whom has any major league experience.
In the shadow of the Green Monster at Fenway Park, the two-time Gold Glove winner in left field will get to play against that defense.
The Cardinals acquired minor-league starter Victor Santos and reliever Nick Robertson, both right-handed pitchers, in exchange for O’Neill.
The teams disclosed the trade information shortly after the post-dispatch, claiming an individual with knowledge of the transaction published an article on the move on Friday night.
This past season, Robertson, 25, made appearances in eighteen major league games, divided equally between the Dodgers and the Boston Red Sox. Near the trade deadline, he was transferred from Los Angeles to Boston.
With 26 strikeouts in 22 1/3 innings pitched in the majors, he had a 6.04 ERA. He played in 42 games in Class AAA with both teams, striking out 58 batters in 42 2/3 innings. In the lower leagues, opponents batted.205 against him and finished 4-1 with a 3.16 ERA.
The Cardinals hoped to get pitching depth or a big-league reliever in exchange for O’Neill.
O’Neill, 28, is one of the few available outfielders who had a career 6.0 WAR season, but injuries have hampered him over the past two seasons.
With 34 home runs and a.912 OPS in 2021, O’Neill demonstrated the uncommon ability to combine exceptional sprint speed and outstanding exit velocity. After accumulating further injuries, he hit.231 in 72 games in 2023, with an on-base percentage of.312 and a slugging percentage of.403.
During the 2017 trade deadline, O’Neill was acquired by the Cardinals from Seattle, where he was sent straight up for lefty Marco Gonzales.
O’Neill will be a free agent at the conclusion of the 2024 season and is approaching his final year of eligibility for arbitration.
The trade has the potential to clear around $5.5 million in salary for the Cardinals, who remain in pursuit of a free-agent reliever (or two) for the bullpen. Robertson will take O’Neill’s spot on the 40-man roster.
