The Cardinals have designated outfielder Mike O’Neill for assignment, according to the MLB.com transactions page. Presumably, the move was made to clear roster space for the recently-claimed George Kottaras.
O’Neill, 26, was added to the 40-man before the season started to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He has yet to see MLB action, and has only 163 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, where he owns a .297/.401/.341 line. Across 796 Double-A plate appearances over the last several years. O’Neill has slashed .306/.407/.382.
Needless to say, his calling card is on-base ability; last season, he reached 91 times via walk while striking out just 37 times. That prompted Baseball America’s Ben Badler to tweet that O’Neill had the best eye in the minors.
