The lefty mashing, free agent outfielder had a huge season in Boston, and could really balance out the Tigers’ offense.
The Detroit Tigers need offensive help, and specifically they need a right-handed hitter with power who handles left-handed hitters well. Free agent outfielder Tyler O’Neill fits the bill and he wouldn’t come close to breaking the bank. Working another outfielder into the roster still isn’t the preferred way to go about improving the offense, but the Tigers choices to stick with Spencer Torkelson and Javier Báez are going to make it difficult to upgrade the lineup without spending a ton in terms of either money of talent from the farm system. There aren’t many perfect fits out there.
The 29-year-old O’Neill spent the first six seasons of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals , where he was a part-time player until a breakout campaign in 2021 saw him mash 34 home runs and post a 5.3 fWAR season. In 2022-2023, he was hampered by a series of relatively minor injuries that have never really fully abated. His injury report goes something like hamstring, leg, neck, hamstring, back, knee, foot, knee, and so on. In 2024, he still missed time with right knee inflammation, a concussion, and an infection in his left leg. None of these injuries has been major, and after appearing in just 172 games between 2022-2023 and getting dealt to Boston last offseason, he did bounce back with a healthier 2024 season that saw him hit 31 homers in 473 plate appearances for the Red Sox . He just seems bound to be banged up at a few points each season.
O’Neill is a pretty good fit for Fenway Park, and the Red Sox helped make him an even better one. Upon landing in Boston, O’Neill began pulling the baseball to the highest degree of his career, and while his strikeout rate skyrocketed to 33.6 percent, he hit for a ton of power. As a mediocre to average defender who favors left field, the short left field at Fenway also suits him pretty well defensively. Presumably the Red Sox will try to re-sign him, particularly if their pursuit of Juan Soto fails.
For the Tigers, it’s a little trickier in terms of position with Riley Greene locked in most of the time as the everyday left fielder. O’Neill could certainly fit in the DH spot some days, and on others be ready to come off the bench against opponents with tough lefties in their bullpen. He also has reasonably good arm strength, averaging 89.4 mph per throw in 2024. That places him 18th among all left fielders last year. Ranked against right fielders, O’Neill would be 25th in average arm strength, but he is close enough in that regard to all but the top 15 right fielders that some reps in right field probably wouldn’t be an issue for him. He has played there, as well as in center field, from time to time in his career.
Ok, so it’s not a perfect fit. The Tigers aren’t likely to find many perfect fits without either going after a top player or making decisions about the roster that they seem unwilling to make right now. O’Neill is a solid enough outfielder that I wouldn’t be too concerned about his defense or his ability to handle some right field as required. The point is obviously to get the big right-handed bat the Tigers need, and O’Neill seems very likely to deliver in that regard.
It’s true that the 33.6 percent strikeout last year is a concern, but it’s also at least partially a function of trying to change his approach to launch balls over the Green Monster. Typically his strikeout rate over the past four seasons has been a little better than that. He posted a 25.2 percent strikeout rate in 2023, and a 26.9 percent mark in 2022, though in his early years in the league he did strikeout an awful lot.
On the plus side, O’Neill doesn’t chase much. His 24.4 percent O-swing is really good, showing control of the strike zone. He only offered at 44-45 percent of pitches he saw over the past two seasons, so he’s selective as well. He just swings and misses more than you’d like when he does turn it loose.
The power is absolutely legit, and the move from Fenway to Comerica Park wouldn’t cost him much in the home run department. O’Neill had an excellent 48.4 percent hard-hit rate last year, and his top exit velocities show him deep into plus-power territory. The Red Sox got him to up his fly ball percentage almost nine percent beyond his last two seasons in St. Louis, and that, combined with the emphasis on pulling the ball, produced some of the best production of O’Neill’s seven year career.
Those adjustments also led to more whiffs and pop-ups, but O’Neill posts good walk rates and gets on base even when he’s striking out often. Potentially, in year two of those changes, O’Neill might be more comfortable and could walk back some of the whiffs and weak contact toward his career averages without sacrificing the power gains.
The key that has to intrigue the Tigers is O’Neill’s penchant for crushing lefties. He’s roughly an average hitter against right-handed pitching, but he holds a 152 wRC+ for his career against left-handed pitching. This is something the Tigers sorely need to add to their lineup in 2025 at a minimum.
The Athletic estimates a contract of two years, $32M for Tyler O’Neill. That seems a little light for a 29-year-old with a pretty good track record apart from the injury history. He is a weak side platoon specialist when used optimally, but he’s a solid enough outfield option against right-handed pitching too. MLB Trade Rumors says three years, $42M for O’Neill, which gives us a range of estimated annual average value of $14-16M. I’d guess the upper level is closer to what the Tigers would be paying on a 2-3 year deal, particularly if Boston misses out this offseason and wants to bring him back.
Tyler O’Neill checks quite a few boxes for the Tigers. He’s a good enough defender to play everyday if needed without hurting the defense much. He crushes left-handed pitching. And he’s familiar with being in platoon situations where he only starts half the games. A.J. Hinch’s roster usage isn’t going to throw him. For Tigers fans who saw what Lane Thomas meant to the Guardians in 2024, particularly in the ALDS, O’Neill is the upgraded version of Thomas. He really would do a lot to boost the offense and balance out the lefty-heavy lineup.
For what he provides as less than a full-time regular, the cost may be a bit high, particularly if the Tigers are competing with the Red Sox and other big market clubs. Still, O’Neill isn’t going to pull a huge contract, and the Tigers can absolutely make him a very competitive offer. The current roster problems make it hard to envision many ideal fits for the Tigers that don’t cost major dollars in free agency. Tyler O’Neill might be a good compromise that solves a key issue offensively without tying up the designated hitter spot in the lineup.