AL East Rival Shuts Down Former Red Sox’s Rehab Assignment

The Baltimore Orioles will wait longer to welcome back a slugger who flourished with the Boston Red Sox last year.

Tyler O’Neill signed a three-year, $49.5 million contract with Baltimore after a strong 2024 campaign in Boston. The outfielder has spent the last month sidelined with a left shoulder injury, and his recovery hit a roadblock over the weekend.

MASN’s Roch Kubato reported that the Orioles returned O’Neill from his minor-league rehab assignment. He’ll go at least a week without conducting any baseball activities after receiving an injection in his AC joint.

Following two down seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Red Sox traded for O’Neill and signed him to a one-year, $5.85 million deal in hopes of unlocking a cheap bounce-back campaign. He delivered, belting 31 home runs in 113 games.

O’Neill parlayed that renaissance into a big deal with Baltimore, which also lost a premier slugger to a division rival when Anthony Santander joined the Toronto Blue Jays. Instead of getting a potent power force, the Orioles watched O’Neill bat .188/.280/.325 in 24 games before going on the injured list.

Injuries have played a recurring role in O’Neill’s career. Outside of 2021, when he hit .286/.352/.560 with 34 home runs in 138 games, the right-handed hitter has never reached 500 plate appearances in a season.

O’Neill has played in 614 career games since reaching the majors in 2018. He spent 10 days on the IL with a knee issue for Boston early in 2024 and later missed two more weeks in August due to a stomach bug and left leg infection.

This also isn’t O’Neill’s first IL stint of 2025. A neck injury sidelined him in late April, and he returned to play six games (two as a pinch-hitter) before going back on the shelf on May 18.

After losing O’Neill in free agency, the Red Sox converted Ceddanne Rafaela into a full-time center fielder and formed a fruitful right-field platoon of Wilyer Abreu and Rob Refsnyder. They recently promoted top prospect Roman Anthony to replace an injured Abreu, who could return as soon as next weekend.