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St. Louis Cardinals: Four players likely to be traded this offseason

By Matt Graves

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - OCTOBER 12: Jose Martinez #38 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after hitting a double to score a run during the eighth inning of game two of the National League Championship Series against the Washington Nationals at Busch Stadium on October 12, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - OCTOBER 12: Jose Martinez #38 of the St. Louis Cardinals celebrates after hitting a double to score a run during the eighth inning of game two of the National League Championship Series against the Washington Nationals at Busch Stadium on October 12, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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ST. LOUIS, MO – JULY 13: Tyler O’Neill #41 of the St. Louis Cardinals watches the ball he hit for a two-run double during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium on July 13, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images)
ST. LOUIS, MO – JULY 13: Tyler O’Neill #41 of the St. Louis Cardinals watches the ball he hit for a two-run double during the first inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Busch Stadium on July 13, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Kane/Getty Images) /

Tyler O’Neill

Tyler O’Neill has all the potential in the world to be an All-Star outfielder. Acquired for Marco Gonzales, O’Neill has never got an extended look playing regularly at the major league level. With some of the most power of anyone in the organization, I wish he would be given a chance, but the team has seemingly made it clear that that won’t happen.

During the month of 2019 that Marcell Ozuna was on the IL with his broken fingers, the 24-year-old hit .301 with a .823 OPS. When Ozuna came back though, O’Neill was once again glued to the bench.

His season numbers don’t look great, but he played in a combined six games in the months of May, June, and August. When he played a lot in April and July, he produced, as I noted before. He can play solid defense at any outfield position and has speed on the basepaths. He seems like a perfect package yet the Cardinals seem reluctant to give him a real chance.

It’s for this reason that I believe he will get traded. With the Marcell Ozuna sized hole in left field, the team could hold on to him and give him an extended look, but with the plethora of outfielders the team has, O’Neill is (but shouldn’t be) expendable.

O’Neill wouldn’t have as much trade value as Jose Martinez, but he could still be a valuable trade piece.

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