The Baltimore Orioles have crafted themselves into one of the premier young and exciting teams in baseball. Headlined by years of quality draft picks coming to fruition at the big league level, the Orioles have turned their ship around as one of the top teams in baseball after back-to-back trips to the postseason in 2023 and 2024. Unfortunately, both trips to the postseason were shortlived, leaving the Orioles with a desire to try and put all the pieces together to make a run.

Their first splash in the free agent market happened on Sunday as Jon Heyman reports the O’s have agreed to a three-year, $49.5 million deal with slugging outfielder Tyler O’Neill. Additionally, Heyman adds that the contract comes with an opt-out opportunity following the 2025 season.

O’Neill, 29, stays in the AL East after playing 113 games with the Boston Red Sox in 2023. O’Neill dealt with a couple of trips to the injured list last season, but still carved out a nice year in the shortened playing time by slashing .241/.336/.511 with a 131 wRC+ to go along with 31 home runs and 61 RBI. The right-handed outfielder did foster an unsightly 33.6% strikeout rate but the home runs make it more palatable as does his 11.2% walk rate.

Originally a third-round draft pick by the Seattle Mariners in 2013, O’Neill made his big league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2018 after being traded to the Cardinals for Marco Gonzales. Through his first three seasons in St. Louis, O’Neill played in 171 games and hit .229/.291/.422 with 21 home runs in 450 plate appearances while playing in the corner outfield spots and earning a Gold Glove in 2020.

2021 became a career year for O’Neill as he posted a 6.1 rWAR season by slashing .286/.352/.560 with a career-high 34 home runs, 15 stolen bases, and 80 RBI in 138 games. He finished eighth in MVP voting and earned his second straight Gold Glove in the outfield. Unfortunately for O’Neill, injuries and ineffectiveness took their toll over the next two seasons has he hit .229/.310/.397 with 23 home runs. Due to down years and the influx of viable outfield options, the Cardinals decided to part ways with O’Neill before the 2024 season and he was able to have a nice rebound in Boston.

With Anthony Santander a free agent, the Orioles were certainly looking to replace his power production and O’Neill may fit the bill. Although he isn’t a switch-hitter like Santander, his 31 home runs were evenly split between right-handed and left-handed pitchers. He fared much better against lefties, hitting .313 with a 1.180 OPS in 156 plate appearances. His high strikeout rate does fall in line with some of the top hitters in the Orioles’ lineup, but so does his high walk rate, giving them a certain continuity to the offensive from 2024. Additionally, his right-handed bat sits in contrast to the surplus of left-handed outfield options.

As it stands he is projected to play in left field with some obvious DH time thrown in, while 2024 Rookie of the Year candidate Colton Cowser is projected to start in right field. He will help strengthen the outfield defense for the O’s. especially in left field once they make the adjustments to the wall once again. If he can stay healthy, it will be a huge boon for the Orioles as they find a way to make a deeper run into the playoffs.

Thanks to a glut of homegrown talent, the Orioles are fairly set in the lineup, barring any major shakeups meaning their focus could now be turned to the pitching market in next week’s Winter Meetings in Dallas following the free agency departure of Corbin Burnes.