The outfielder hasn't lived up to his $49.5 million deal.
The Baltimore Orioles entered 2026 with cautious optimism. A new manager in Craig Albernaz, a power-hitting first baseman in Pete Alonso and a revamped outfield to signal a bounce-back year after a last-place finish in the American League East. Instead, Baltimore sits at 24-30. No acquisition better represents that gap between expectations and reality than outfielder Tyler O’Neill.
The Orioles signed O’Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million contract before the 2025 season, the largest free agent contract in Mike Elias’ tenure as president of baseball operations. The pitch was straightforward: a proven power bat, particularly against left-handed pitching, to protect the middle of the lineup. Through nearly 100 games, O'Neill has delivered the opposite.
O'Neill is slashing .154/.267/.231 with two home runs and seven RBI in 33 games this season. Against lefties, he’s hitting .073, going 3-for-41. He has been on the injured list four times since signing with the Orioles, including a concussion this April after fainting from dehydration on an off day.
O'Neill's Woes Are Bigger Than Bad Luck
It would be easy to chalk this up to injury misfortune, as he has only played in 87 games as of Tuesday. However, even when he has been available, O’Neill has not been a viable everyday option. His .383 OPS in May says that his offense goes beyond a long slump. The Orioles have already moved him down the order, with Albernaz pinch-hitting for him against a left-handed reliever on Sunday, a showing of low confidence in the outfielder.
The problem for Baltimore is that there is no easy exit. O'Neill is owed $33 million through 2027, and the outfield depth is thin. Dylan Beavers is sidelined with a right oblique strain, Heston Kjerstad is on his way back from the IL and the team recently signed 38-year-old Tommy Pham to a minor league deal as a stopgap. The team's signing of former Angels outfielder Taylor Ward in the offseason is another admission that O'Neill was not the answer the team hoped for.
The Orioles will have to decide on what to do with O'Neill. Keeping him on the bench means sitting a player who is owed $33 million, yet putting him out on the field also costs the team offensively. It's a tough spot for the Orioles front office as a whole, but as the team keeps getting deeper into the season, running him out on the field and expecting something to change will only cost the team in the long run.
