The Orioles Kick Off Their Off-Season Spending By Bringing In Slugger Tyler O'Neill And Gary Sanchez
The O's went into this off-season needing a few things for their roster, two of those were a right handed outfielder and a backup catcher. They checked both of those boxes off this weekend by agreeing to deals with Tyler O'Neill and everyone's favorite catcher, Gary Sanchez. There is still work to be done to this roster to ensure a third straight trip to October, but maybe this year they can win a game or 2? Baby steps! But seriously, they needed to add some guys and looks like they didn't want to wait until the Winter Meetings kicked off this week. These aren't the big moves of the off-season, but they are solid role-player moves. They didn't break the bank for either one of these guys which allows them to still be able to add an impact pitcher and maybe another bat somewhere, but I doubt that unless it comes from a trade.
The first signing they made was Tyler O'Neill who spent all of last year hitting some towering bombs in Boston, including a walk-off against the O's so us fans remember this guy very well. Bombs, that's why the 29 year-old is coming to Baltimore. To hit BOMBS off lefties. The right handed outfielder will benefit greatly from Walltimore being moved in, not that the wall would have been a problem for him, not with those biceps. But he's a fine player, he won't do anything with the glove and I'm sure they'll stick him in right field when a lefty starts. .313/.430/.750 for an OPS of 1.180 against lefties to go along with 16 home runs in 156 plate appearances vs lefties. The O's outfielders were pretty bad against lefties last year but O'Neill will improve that a ton. For that price tag you can't beat it, 3-year, $49.5 million deal with an opt out after one year, not breaking the bank at all. Again, a guy who hits 31 home runs in 113 games (missed some time due to injuries, story of his career) and he gets on base vs lefties, he will fit in nicely with this lineup. He'll strike out a lot, but that is kinda just where the game is at now. You're going to K and hopefully the O's new hitting coaches can cut that down and keep the power up. But he's going to hit against lefties and find a way on base, exactly what the doctor ordered.
This move does likely signal the end of the Anthony Santander as an Oriole as I don't see them paying another outfielder, it's a crowded group with Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins, Heston Kjerstad and now O'Neill. Love love love love the tater man but it sounds like he's looking for some decent cash and the O's just weren't going to pay that. The platoon of Kjerstad and O'Neill should be able to replicate his offense and honestly none of them were anything special with the glove. They'll make it work but I am excited for O'Neill and the homers he's going to hit if he stays healthy. The O's desperately needed one of these big, alpha males and they got one. Check that box off, certified badass entering the O's young lineup. He's also homered on the last 5 Opening Days so get ready to place that bet to make it 6 in a row.
When I got the text that Gary Sanchez was coming to Baltimore on a one year, $8.5 million deal I legit laughed out loud. What a hilarious text to get, but as far as backup catchers go, they could hav done worse. Sanchez hit .220 with 11 bombs for the Brewers last year and will back up Adley Rutschman who looks to rebound in 2025. 7 of those 11 homers came off lefties, but he only hit .212 off southpaws. He's not close to the El Gary we came to know a few years back but as far as a backup catcher goes, he's fine. Especially for $8.5 million, chump change. He'll take the spot of James McCann, who reportedly is looking for a multi-year deal and with Samuel Basallo (yes, another top prospect for the Orioles) on the way soon, it didn't make sense to bring McCann back former than a year. People saw the name and immediately decided they weren't fans of the move, all I have to say is that I have no time or energy to get worked up about a backup catcher. Just won't do it.
A veteran who has plenty of playoff experience should help this young ball club a lot. For instance, he can tell them what it's like to win a game in October. He's still got the power and that is what the O's were looking for. He'll be a nice stop gap guy for a year and hopefully can find some of that offensive talent that we saw torment the Orioles for a while when he was a Yankee. He's also a slight upgrade on defensive over McCann, better blocker, better framer, and better pop time. Welcome to Baltimore, El Gary!
Still work to be done, mainly with a stud pitcher. Could still be in the market for Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, although I'd love a guy like Nathan Eovaldi as well. But they got off to a nice start here, a lot of pull side righty power which will be huge with the wall coming in. Hard not to like the moves they made, especially for those prices. Let's get these Winter Meetings started and Soto signed so the rest of the dominos can continue to fall.