Red Sox Acquire Tyler O'Neill in Trade with Cardinals

Red Sox Acquire Tyler O’Neill in Trade with Cardinals

By James Kirk

Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

December 8, 2023

The Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals made a trade on Friday. The Redbirds are sending outfielder Tyler O’Neill to Beantown for two pitchers; Nick Robertson and Victor Santos. Both teams are coming off disappointing seasons. The Cardinals were expected to challenge the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Central title, but instead finished in last place, 21 games behind the Brewers. The Red Sox also finished in last place in the American League East.

O’Neill Fills Hole

O’Neill will fill the hole created by the recent departure of Alex Verdugo who was traded to the New York Yankees earlier this week. He is a five-tool player who has blazing speed and raw power. The problem has been staying healthy. He is coming off an injury-plagued season where he played in 71 games. He missed most of the season with a lower back strain. On the season he hit .231 with nine home runs. During the previous season, he had missed significant time with multiple hamstring injuries. During his lone healthy season in 2021, he hit .286 with 31 home runs while knocking in 80. He has won two Gold Glove awards while roaming the outfield of Busch Stadium. O’Neill has one more year of salary arbitration before he’s a free agent.

St. Louis Gets Pitching Help

The 25-year-old Robertson has pitched 18 games at the major league level for the Red Sox. He struggled to an ERA of 6.04 with a WHIP of 1.746. He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and traded at the deadline to the Red Sox in the Kike Hernandez deal. The 23 year old Santos has yet to make his major league debut. In 101 games, 71 starts, in the minors he has a record of 32–29 and one save.

Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said in a statement. “As we look to add pitching depth, as well as address concerns on potential playing time in the outfield, we felt this deal worked well in addressing both of those issues. We are excited to add Nick to our bullpen, and we feel Victor gives us added depth in our minor league system.”