… And this is the reason you progress the left subject wall again in. On Saturday, the Orioles jumped into the free agent market searching for upside, inking two veterans who, after they’re at their greatest, have the flexibility to rival essentially the most fearsome sluggers within the sport.
Outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who bashed 32 house runs over simply 113 video games with the Purple Sox, signed a three-year, $49.5 million deal that can make him an Oriole by way of his age-32 season. Catcher Gary Sánchez, who turned 32 simply final week, signed a one-year, $8.5 million deal. Each gamers are right-handed batters with a number of 30-homer seasons underneath their belts, which is to say that till the Orioles introduced just a few weeks in the past that their left subject wall would not be positioned manner the hell out in Towson, each may need severely thought of passing on a suggestion to play in Baltimore and watch all their would-be house runs die within the left fielder’s glove. (Truthfully, I’m principally joking right here. O’Neill and Sánchez have sufficient energy that they’re among the many small cohort of gamers who didn’t actually have to fret about Walltimore.)
Ben Clemens predicted that O’Neill would signal for 3 years and $45 million, whereas our crowdsourced estimate was $50 million. Congratulations readers, you’re collectively smarter than Ben! One other option to view the state of affairs is that Ben’s quantity had baked into it some very reliable considerations about O’Neill going ahead, however given the season he simply had, one staff was certain to take a big gamble on his upside. The Orioles have Cedric Mullins locked in as their middle fielder for yet another yr and Colton Cowser, recent off a second-place end within the Rookie of the 12 months voting, in left. With Anthony Santander a free agent and Austin Hays gone, that leaves the left-handed Heston Kjerstad and the right-handed O’Neill. O’Neill ran an enormous 215 wRC+ in opposition to lefties in 2024, and he’s obtained a profession wRC+ of 152 in opposition to them. In opposition to righties, these numbers are 91 in 2024 and 104 over his profession. The staff will possible hope to maintain him recent by letting him relaxation in opposition to the occasional righty.
O’Neill is just about tailored to take over the slugging nook outfielder position just lately vacated by Santander. The 2 gamers are so related, in truth, that they share the very same profession .246 batting common, .223 ISO, and .469 slugging proportion! Nonetheless, there are some key variations between the 2. For starters, Santander is an equal-opportunity masher who options small platoon splits. Maybe a very powerful space through which O’Neill can’t match Santander is availability. Over the previous three seasons, Santander has performed in 460 video games, whereas O’Neill has appeared in simply 281 due to a litany of accidents to a different litany of physique elements. He’s gone on the IL six instances over the previous 4 years.
Even when he’s on the sector, O’Neill has a protracted option to go if he hopes to match Santander when it comes to consistency. Santander mashed 44 house runs final season and hasn’t hit fewer than 28 since 2021. The Orioles are actually relying on O’Neill to maintain a scorching bat for the second yr operating, and to date in his profession that’s been a tall order. He broke out in a significant manner in 2021, operating a 143 wRC+ with 34 homers whereas taking part in in 138 video games. Nonetheless, in harm truncated 2022 and 2023 seasons, he was barely under common on the plate, after which the Cardinals traded him to Boston final offseason. With the Inexperienced Monster to intention at, O’Neill bounced all the best way again to a 131 wRC+ regardless of lacking time with knee irritation, a concussion, and a leg an infection. If he manages to place up even a league-average season on the plate, it will likely be the primary time he’s ever completed so for 2 seasons in a row.
All these accidents have additionally slowed O’Neill down within the subject. As soon as thought of a superb defender who might handle all three nook spots, he’s been nearer to common than good over the previous three seasons. In 2024, for the primary time, Statcast’s fielding run values noticed him as costing his staff a number of runs. His dash velocity now makes him barely under common for an outfielder; it might rebound if he’s in a position to keep away from leg accidents in 2025, nevertheless it’s uncertain that the Orioles count on O’Neill to contribute a lot on protection. He’ll possible get his justifiable share of at-bats as a DH.
I’m not portray too difficult an image right here: O’Neill is a prototypical three true outcomes slugger. All the identical, you may be stunned to see simply how shut he lives to the sting. His stat line is a examine in extremes. In 2024, he ran an ugly 33.6% strikeout fee. Amongst batters with at the least 450 plate appearances, that was the second-highest fee in baseball. Should you’re questioning why he strikes out so typically, it’s not as a result of he chases every thing he sees. He runs a below-average chase fee, and his 11.2% stroll fee ranked twenty first amongst that cohort. It’s simply that he whiffs lots, rating within the backside eight when it comes to zone contact fee, total contact fee, and squared-up fee. He’s an excessive instance of the swing-hard-in-case-you-make-contact participant, and the Orioles are placing some actual cash behind the idea that he’ll each keep wholesome and proceed to make sufficient contact.
As a backup catcher, Sánchez is probably not anticipated to play as large an on a regular basis position as O’Neill, however if you happen to contemplate a part of his obligations to be to assist to maintain Adley Rutschman wholesome and acting at 100%, then it’s laborious to think about a extra necessary task. Rutschman began the 2024 season trying, nicely, like Adley Rutschman. However he suffered a thumb harm in late June, and ran a wRC+ of simply 61 from June 30 onward. (For what it’s value, the Orioles have stated publicly that Rutschman’s poor play wasn’t on account of any particular harm.) It wasn’t by any means a misplaced season for the younger famous person, as he’d banked a 138 wRC+ up till the harm. Nonetheless, he completed with a 104 wRC+ and a couple of.8 WAR, the worst marks of his profession. Furthermore, Rutschman ran a 138 wRC+ as a DH final season, in comparison with simply 88 as a catcher. Regardless of his excellence behind the dish, the Orioles will nearly actually be trying to let him spend a bit much less time in a squat. In different phrases, they completely want a dependable backup to take over the position that James McCann stuffed during the last two seasons.
The Orioles have been reportedly fascinated with bringing again McCann, however McCann needed extra years than they have been keen to offer. With shiny prospect Samuel Basallo ready within the wings, the staff solely needed a backup on a one-year deal. Sánchez is a wonderfully strong alternative for that position. He’s performed in at the least 75 video games in every of the previous eight seasons (except for 2020, when he caught 49 of the Yankees’ 60 video games). His framing numbers ticked down a bit throughout the 2024 season, however he’s grown right into a strong defensive catcher. “I can’t say sufficient about him,” Blake Snell advised reporters in July. “I like throwing to him. I like the connection that now we have. I like every thing. We’re at all times on the identical web page. He understands me, I perceive him. It’s been loads of enjoyable.”
Sánchez is not the hitter he was when he first broke onto the scene, however he’s run a 98 wRC+ over the previous 4 seasons, which places him within the high 20 of all catchers over that interval (minimal 800 PAs). And it’s not as if that fearsome slugger is gone utterly. The sunshine-tower energy continues to be there, and when Sánchez goes nicely, it’s a sight to behold. In 2024, he snapped off two 25-game streaks through which he ran a wRC+ of 150 or higher. It’s simply that in between have been a pair streaks through which his wRC+ was 57 or worse.
Once you take these two strikes collectively, it actually appears just like the Orioles suppose there’s one thing they’ll unlock in a few righties with large whiff charges and exit velocities. Nonetheless, it’s attainable that that is only a coincidence, they usually don’t have a particular plan to tug off an upside transfer. O’Neill fills a just lately vacated position, and the Orioles have the expertise to cowl for him ought to harm or underperformance strike. Likewise, Sánchez is a reliable catcher who was keen to take a stopgap deal. The 2 gamers actually make sense in Baltimore, and possibly it’s simply that easy.
