The winter meetings in Dallas, Texas are just a week away. The Winter Meetings are a big event that all 30 teams and their various affiliates attend. From job openings to contract signings, it has it all. For the Phillies, this presents a couple of big opportunities.
If you remember, that time period is when the famous “Arson Judge appears headed to the Giants” Tweet was sent from Jon Heyman. The Phillies didn’t make any moves in last year’s Winter Meetings, but the 2022 Winter Meetings saw the Phillies sign Trea Turner and Matt Strahm. They didn’t have any Winter Meetings in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, but the Winter Meetings in 2019 is when they signed Zack Wheeler.
The Philadelphia Phillies are still in need of a corner outfielder. According to Matt Gelb’s podcast, “Phillies Therapy,” the NL East Champions are “less inclined” to trade Brandon Marsh and go with a platoon of Johan Rojas and Marsh in centerfield. The outfield market isn’t the prettiest in the world, but there are outfielders not named Juan Soto that the Phillies can target. One of those players is a 2x Gold Glove winner.
Tyler O’Neill
Tyler O’Neill is a Canadian outfielder who was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the third round of the 2013 MLB draft. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Marco Gonzales and made his debut in April of 2018. His rookie year saw him hit .254/.303/.500/.803 with nine home runs and 23 RBI in 61 games.
O’Neill enters free agency following a season that saw him go a respectable .241/.336/.511/.847 with 31 home runs and 61 RBI in 113 games. He finished the season with a 33.6% k%, the highest on the Boston Red Sox this year by a considerable amount. He grounded into 13 double plays this season, tied for second most on the Red Sox. His 31 home runs were the second-highest of his career. His 131 wRC+ was the second highest on Boston and second highest of his career.
Tyler O’Neill won the Gold Glove award with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2020 and 2021, but he finished with 2 DRS and a -4 OAA. His .969 fielding percentage in left field is middle of the pack for his career. It was the best among the two players who played 70+ innings in left field for Boston this year, but it was behind Wilyer Abreu, who played 46 innings at the position.
Lineup prediction
- Kyle Schwarber
- Trea Turner
- Bryce Harper
- Tyler O’Neill
- Alec Bohm
- Nick Castellanos
- Bryson Stott
- J.T. Realmuto
- Brandon Marsh/Johan Rojas
Tyler O’Neill hit fourth in the lineup in Boston last year, and he’d certainly hit fourth on the Phillies. He doesn’t hit into as many double plays as Schwarber and hit almost as many home runs this season. He is also a right-handed hitter, so he’ll fit nicely behind Bryce Harper.
Should the Phillies sign him?
Tyler O’Neill’s .241/.336/.511/.847 season wasn’t some outlier. This is a pretty normal stat line when looking at his entire career. The Phillies have enough boom-or-bust, hit for a low average, and play defense players. They need players who can hit for average and get on base. Baseball is much more than that, but the Phillies have the other qualities. Their problems the past two years were the home runs stopped happening and they started swinging at pitches miles outside of the strike zone. They can’t continue to add players that fit this mold.
Fans shouldn’t be opposed to the idea of bringing him to Philadelphia. More home runs couldn’t hurt anybody. The Phillies just need a significant change in the hitting philosophy and Tyler O’Neill fits the current mold enough to advise against bringing him in.
Can the Phillies sign him?
The Phillies can sign him. He will be reasonably priced and is the type of player they typically go after, but I don’t think they will. I believe the Phillies understand they need to acquire a different style of player if they want to party on Broad Street as most of the Philly greats have done. I see him staying in Boston or going to a team that needs his style of play at left field.
