Orioles Must Consider DFA For Former Slugger During All-Star Break

Tyler O'Neill doesn't make sense on this roster, but if the Orioles eat enough of his contract he can find a new home

Jul 8, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Tyler O'Neill (9) rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the seventh inning against the Chicago Cubs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It’s beyond time for Tyler O’Neill to move on.

The relatively immobile and oft-injured outfielder is always on barrowed time. The Orioles already have a roster with too many largely position-less players on it and they are younger and cheaper than O’Neill with actual upside and the potential to maybe be more than they are now if/when this franchise ever gets good again.

O’Neill does not.

His contract has long been a sunk cost, and the All-Star break is the perfect time to get real about this situation and start showing this front office is capable of admitting some mistakes and doing something about it. If anyone is inclined to believe that baseball czar Mike Elias can change even a smidge, and has been humbled and altered by eight years of mostly failures, let it manifest in the form of him throwing O’Neill into the market.

Where there has been nothing but arrogance and hubris, now show some contrition.

Once he is DFA’d they could let every team in the league know how much of the remainder of the contract (it’s a doozie at $18M a year) this ownership group will eat, take anything, and move on. Dylan Beavers of Leody Taveras can play right field and when Taylor Ward is traded, if Enrique Bradfield Jr is healthy, add him to the mix.

No Better Time To Make The Move

Getting anything for O’Neill will be impossible but he has finally flashed some power lately and caught a few balls in right field. Dude homers in three straight at bats after basically not homering all season. He even hit a lefty or two; he hadn’t done that since they gave him this ridiculous contract before the start of last season.

Embrace that, and end this stunt.

The owner is a billionaire who got $600M in stadium upgrades from taxpayers and has barely invested in payroll in a meaningful way, ever (despite being an immediate public proponent for a salary cap, hmm).

O’Neill offers nothing off the bench and isn’t a preferred bat against lefties; Coby Mayo, a former top 100 prospect who is third in MLB in OPS vs lefties, and Jeremiah Jackson, a former top 10 prospect for the Angels, do that much better and they have much more to offer. This is the worst kind of redundancy.

O’Neill has now played 113 games (384 PA) with Baltimore and has 15 homers, 38 driven in and a .197/.292/.373 slash. He can’t steal a base and his throws go up the third-base line and he makes even less sense here than he would elsewhere. Especially if the Orioles were paying the bulk of the contract.

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