St. Louis Cardinals: The coexistence of Tyler O’Neill and Jose Martinez

As the offseason inches closer and closer to its end, trade talk around the St. Louis Cardinals is noticeably quieter than a few weeks ago. It seems like Jose Martinez is going to remain on the team as 2019 rolls in, so what will the Cards do with Tyler O’Neill?

It has been no secret that the St. Louis Cardinals have been flooded with outfielders for quite some time, and the addition of Paul Goldschmidt indirectly made the jam even worse. With Jose Martinez being inserted into the right field conversation, it seems like there won’t be much room for Tyler O’Neill to pick up some at-bats.

O’Neill was recently named the St. Louis Cardinals’ Minor League Player of the year, and his dominance of Triple-A pitchers was apparent in the form of a .311/.385/.693 slash line in 64 games before being called up to the majors for good. However, there is enough concern with his game that his age and offensive upside don’t immediately grant him a spot based on potential.

In particular, O’Neill’s strikeout rate is something that has been a major concern for the Cardinals. O’Neill clocked in at a ridiculous 40% K rate last season, which to many pundits is a sign that he is just not ready yet.

Whether this is fortunate or unfortunate depends on how you look at it. On one hand, the St. Louis Cardinals have incredible depth for their brittle outfielders, which relieves some pressure on the team to manage their workloads. According to Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, there is far more anxiety about Marcell Ozuna‘s shoulder than there is clarity within the Cardinals organization, and there are still questions as to whether or not he will be ready for Opening Day.

On top of that, Dexter Fowler has obviously not had the cleanest bill of health in recent years, and both his foot and his mental health are causes of concern for Cardinals brass. This would make O’Neill a great insurance option for the Cards should either of these guys go down.

Additionally, we still don’t know if the marriage between the St. Louis Cardinals and Ozuna will be long-lived. With all of the injury issues and the relationship seeming to slowly deteriorate, there is no telling whether or not the Cardinals will want Ozuna back in 2019.

This is where O’Neill could come in, though he would either have to acclimate to playing left field or force one of the current Cardinals right fielders to the other side.

It isn’t ideal to keep at-bats away from O’Neill right now though. He won’t ever be able to grow if he doesn’t get the opportunities to make mistakes and apply what he learned. If you need any proof of that fact, look no further than the debacle of Greg Holland.

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Even for an established player, not receiving the proper reps and staying in a consistent rhythm completely derailed his game, turning him from an All-Star closer in Colorado to the barely recognizable sham that he was in a Cardinals uniform last season.

This is where the St. Louis Cardinals’ dilemma seems to currently sit. To win now, playing Martinez, Fowler, and Ozuna over O’Neill is probably the right way to go, yet O’Neill needs at-bats to fulfill the potential that the Cardinals saw in him when they gave up a bright pitching prospect in Marco Gonzales for him.

I don’t think that the pressure of living up to the value that the Cardinals gave up for him will play too much of a factor in his use next year because Gonzales was traded to make room and not specifically to acquire O’Neill. However, that won’t stop fans from having their thoughts about the situation if O’Neill doesn’t play up to standard or doesn’t get to play.

What will affect his playing time is the power upside that he has demonstrated since being traded from Seattle. Simply put, O’Neill’s potential offensive production should be enough to make the St. Louis Cardinals want to give at bats to Tyler O’Neill, and hopefully it won’t take a major injury for that to happen.