Shushkewich: O'Neill opts to stay with Orioles
Langley Blaze and Junior National Team alum Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, B.C.) will return to the Baltimore Orioles in 2026.
November 4, 2025
By Tyson Shushkewich
Canadian Baseball Network
Tyler O’Neill isn’t going anywhere.
The right-handed hitting slugger, who hails from Maple Ridge, B.C., has opted to stay with the Baltimore Orioles for the next two years. The three-year contract O’Neill signed with the Orioles last winter included a clause that allowed him to opt out of the remaining two years following the 2025 campaign, leaving over $33 million on the table if he decided to test the free agent market. Instead, he will remain in Baltimore, where he will earn $16.5 million in each of the next two seasons.
O’Neill’s first season with the Orioles was rocky, posting a -0.6 bWAR through 54 games. Injuries got the better of the outfielder, with O’Neill missing a majority of the campaign due to neck inflammation, a left shoulder impingement and right wrist inflammation.
When he was healthy, he was hitting the ball a long way. In 181 at bats, he produced six doubles, one triple, and nine home runs with 26 RBIs, amassing a 4.3% home run rate (which was 1.1% above the MLB average). O’Neill also dropped his strikeout rate through the limited sample, getting punched out at a 24.4% clip, a drastic decrease from the 33.6% he posted in 2024 with the Boston Red Sox.
Slash line-wise, O’Neill struggled to put the ball in play, authoring a .199/.292/.392 line with a .302 rOBA, .684 OPS, and a .218 BABIP. He also saw a major dip in his hard-hit% (39.1%). He did extend his record Opening Day home run streak to six games, much to the chagrin of Blue Jays fans and those in attendance at Rogers Centre.
For his big league career, O’Neill owns a 12.2 bWAR and a .242/.320/.463 slash line with 118 home runs and a .782 OPS in 644 games in eight seasons. He spent his first six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals before being traded to the Red Sox during the 2023-24 offseason.
While injuries likely impacted his play this year, O’Neill should be good to go come Opening Day and will join an Orioles’ outfield core that already boasts Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, and Heston Kjerstad, with top prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. waiting in the wings.
New manager Craig Albernaz may opt to put O’Neill into the DH spot more in 2026 compared to right field because of his plus power, injury history, and the crowded outfield picture. Across 39 games split between right (36) and left (3) field in 2025, O’Neill had a .977 fielding percentage and contributed five outfield assists.
Outside of the Orioles, O’Neill is also a candidate for Team Canada at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. In four games for Canada at the 2023 WBC, he topped the team with eight hits and a .615 batting average.