The Philadelphia Phillies reportedly expressed interest in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals before the trade deadline in 2023. This offseason, the player is once again available in trade talks.
The Philadelphia Phillies’ outfield problems proved to be a major concern during the 2023 season, turning it completely upside down.
With Kyle Schwarber in left field and Nick Castellanos in right because of Bryce Harper’s elbow surgery recuperation, they had one of the worst defenses in Major League Baseball.
When Harper moved to first base, most of that disappeared. Schwarber was able to take over as the team’s full-time designated hitter, and they were able to bring up the excellent defender Johan Rojas from the minor leagues.
Prior to those in-house actions, the Phillies were looking for outfield assistance in time for the trade deadline. According to reports, they had an interest in St. Louis Cardinals player Tyler O’Neill.
In the end, no deal was completed because Dave Dombrowski was satisfied with the new alignment and its projections for the remaining games of the season.
But in light of Rojas’s at-bat struggles during the postseason, the president of baseball operations has made hints that they may target some outfield depth to bolster their current lineup in the event that the young center fielder’s hitting struggles persist.
John Mozeliak, the president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, says that O’Neill is open to trade talks if Philadelphia is interested in making a deal.
“Right now, if we were to play tomorrow, [Lars Nootbaar], Tommy Edman, and [Jordan Walker] would probably be in the outfield. Dylan Carlson would be our fourth outfield player. We are paying attention to Tyler O’Neill when it comes to trades, he stated on MLB Network’s Sirius XM channel.
Before becoming a free agent in 2024, the 28-year-old would be under club control through that season.
It’s unclear what kind of package St. Louis is asking for in return given O’Neill’s poor performance in the two years since his breakthrough 2021 season.
He only combined for 23 home runs and 79 RBI the previous two seasons after hitting 34 home runs and 80 RBI that year.
Nevertheless, he has a career slash line of.248/.318/.458, which is a respectable hitting line. He has mostly played left and center field on defense; he did not play right field last year.
It’s difficult to predict if the Phillies will try to trade for O’Neill in the offseason without knowing his asking price, but if they think he’s a player that fits their needs, he’s now open to trade talks.