Cardinals trade Tyler O'Neill to Red Sox, acquire two pitchers

Posted by Noelle Montes on Wednesday, May 8, 2024

ST. LOUIS – After six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, the last few marred by injuries, outfielder Tyler O’Neill is on the move.

The Cardinals have agreed to trade O’Neill to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for two pitchers, Nick Robertson and Victor Santos. Robertson will join the 40-man roster, while Santos will begin next season in the minor leagues.

The Cardinals announced the move just after 5 p.m. Friday with initial reports of the deal coming in the 4 p.m. hour. President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak made it clear that the Cardinals would explore the trade market for O’Neill after announcing Lars Nootbaar, Jordan Walker and Tommy Edman as the team’s projected starting outfield next season.

Blues trade veteran defenseman Robert Bortuzzo to Islanders

“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,” said Mozeliak via a news release on Friday’s trade. “We are excited to add Nick to our bullpen, and we feel Victor gives us added depth in our minor league system.”

O’Neill hit .248 with 78 home runs and 217 RBIs over six seasons with the Cardinals. His best season was the 2021 campaign, in which he slugged 34 home runs and 80 RBIs, finished eighth in NL MVP voting, and won a gold glove award.

O’Neill hit just .231 with 9 home runs and 21 RBIs in limited playing time last year, also taking criticism from manager Oli Marmol over an early-season baserunning blunder. O’Neill is set for free agency after the 2024 season if he doesn’t get a contract extension in Boston.

On the flip side, the Cardinals add some much-desired depth to the bullpen. In Robertson, the birds get a 25-year-old pitcher who made his MLB debut last year and has shown strong strikeout stuff with a rate of 11.28 punchouts per nine innings.

Santos fared 10-12 over 145 innings in the minor leagues this past season. Primarily used as a starting pitcher, Santos worked his way up to Triple-A Worcester by the season’s end.

Coincidentally, St. Louis’ big three professional sports teams have reportedly all agreed to a trade over the past 24 hours and change. The St. Louis Blues have moved Robert Bortuzzo to the New York Islanders. St. Louis CITY SC plans to trade Jared Stroud and Lucas Bartlett to D.C. United once the MLS trade window opens Monday.

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