The Orioles announced that outfielder Tyler O’Neill has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to neck inflammation. The placement is retroactive to April 24. Outfielder Dylan Carlson was called up from Triple-A to take O’Neill’s place on the 26-man roster.
O’Neill didn’t play in Baltimore’s game on Thursday and presumably wouldn’t have played yesterday either, had the Orioles’ game with the Tigers not been rained out. Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun) that the IL placement was meant “to get [O’Neill] right” and completely over his neck soreness, though the outfielder isn’t expected to miss more than the minimum 10 days.
Signed to a three-year, $49.5MM guarantee in December, O’Neill was the biggest acquisition of the Orioles’ offseason, though the deal could end up being a one-year, $16.5MM pact if O’Neill triggers an opt-out clause at season’s end. After hitting his customary Opening Day home run, O’Neill has yet to really get rolling this season, as he has hit only two homers in total while batting .215/.284/.385 in 74 plate appearances. The outfielder’s walk and hard-contact rates are down, and he has continued his high-strikeout ways with a 28.4% strikeout rate.
O’Neill’s .337 xwOBA is much higher than his .293 wOBA, so there is at least some evidence that he has just been somewhat unlucky in the season’s first month. His IL stint might well act as an unofficial reset point for O’Neill’s 2025 season and Orioles tenure, once his neck heals up.
It was only a matter of when.
New poll: how many times will he be on the IL this season? I’m saying two more, total of three.
dewey – I don’t care about the elephant in the room, I’m gonna mention this anyways ….. in my lifetime I don’t ever recall a MLB player going on the IL for “Neck Inflammation”, do you?
It sure as hell sounds like yet another lifting-related injury, unless somebody here has evidence he got hit in the neck with a pitch.
The fact Mark made no mention of how the injury occurred is telling.
Nah, just a tough night of Olympic caliber sex and Tyler gets wrecked.
Baseball and bodybuilding don’t mesh
Buyer beware….
sox – It saddens me to see an article that once again throws out a bunch of analytics and a conclusion of him being simply “unlucky”, while completely ignoring the most telling issue …… the ridiculous reverse splits.
Tyler has actually been performing BETTER than usual against RHP, but has been shockingly horrible vs LHP:
.881 OPS vs RHP
.190 OPS vs LHP
How bad has he been against lefties? 2-for-21 with no walks and no extra-base hits.
Now compare that to last year:
.693 OPS vs RHP
1.180 OPS vs LHP
And 2023 …
.684 OPS vs RHP
.794 OPS vs LHP
And 2022 …
.673 OPS vs RHP
.788 OPS vs LHP
And 2021 …
.888 OPS vs RHP
1.026 OPS vs LHP
This is something that HAS to be mentioned when discussing O’Neill’s struggles this season. I have a feeling I know why the horrible numbers vs LHP this year, but I’m keeping it to myself.
SSS. No, extreme SSS.
Major – With all due respect, saying the numbers have no value because the season is only a month old doesn’t provide any insight.
Mark attributes Tyler’s overall putrid numbers as “just bad luck”. Are you aware of the probability of a player having bad luck JUST against LHP, and having good luck JUST against RHP?
Are you saying all the O’s opponents just happen to field poorly ONLY when they have a RHP on the mound and just happen to field spectacularly ONLY when they have a LHP on the mound?
Over paid. Should have focused on starting pitchers
Give him a chance,between him and Carlson you have a good full time player.
Dad – Okay I give up, who is the good full time player standing between O’Neill and Carlson?
And why isn’t the good full time player playing?
Related: I can’t believe how bad Jordan Walker is at baseball.
Hopefully he’s been playing hurt because he’s been awful.