DETROIT -- The O's outfield depth took a hit on Saturday, as outfielder Tyler O'Neill was placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to Thursday) with neck inflammation.
“It’s a neck soreness kind of deal,” manager Brandon Hyde said before Game 1 of Baltimore's doubleheader against the Tigers at Comerica Park. “[O'Neill] has been dealing with that probably since last week. … We need to get him right, need to get him fully healthy.
“He missed a couple games earlier with a similar issue in his neck. It was improving, and he tried to play on it, but it’s continuing to bother him a little bit. So, I think the right thing to do is to try and get him healthy and back.”
Hyde added that he didn't expect O’Neill to miss more than the required 10 days.
O’Neil hadn’t played since Wednesday, and he went 0-for-8 with four strikeouts in his two games prior. He’s batting .215 (14-for-65) with three doubles, one triple and two homers this season. He's one of the many Orioles starters off to a slow start in 2025.
O’Neill hit .241 with 18 doubles, 31 homers and 61 RBIs last season for the Red Sox. The 29-year-old -- who signed a three-year deal with Baltimore worth $49.5 million on Dec. 10 -- spent his first six seasons with the Cardinals, winning National League Gold Glove Awards in 2020 and '21. O'Neill has a career batting average of .245 with 111 homers and 288 RBIs.
In a corresponding move, the O's recalled outfielder Dylan Carlson from Triple-A Norfolk.
“Yeah, I’m hoping so,” O’Neill said of the expected short stint on the IL while receiving treatments. “That’s obviously the goal. I’m just unfortunately dealing with some pain and some mobility [issues] for the better part of the week, and it’s better to have it dealt with now and not lingering around over the course of the season.
"It was affecting the work and the production that I was able to accomplish in the batter’s box … I’m trying to open up that mobility. It hurts me looking left, and I’ve got to look left to the pitcher [as a right-handed hitter]. I’ve got to look left to throw [right-handed].”