Cardinals: St. Louis expects Tyler O’Neill to return soon

Tyler O'Neill #27 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits a solo home run during the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on May 12, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Tyler O'Neill #27 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits a solo home run during the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on May 12, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

The St Louis Cardinals have been decimated by injuries, but they finally got good news on one of their players on Tuesday night.

The St. Louis Cardinals’ poor injury fortune has essentially defined their season, tanking what once looked like a promising season. Their rotation appeared to be on the verge of returning to full health for the first time this season, only for Kwang Hyun Kim to be placed on the injured list with an elbow injury.

Only a day later, it looked like the Cardinals had yet *another* injury, this time with Tyler O’Neill being scratched from Tuesday’s lineup. The good news, however, is that O’Neill was only experiencing side effects from his second COVID shot and is expected to be back in the lineup soon, the team announced.

Boy, are the Cardinals lucky. O’Neill, 26, has been one of the Cardinals’ best hitters this season. He’s hitting .280/.346/.518 with 18 home runs and 41 RBI. And while he was good in the first half, slashing .275/.333/.546 with 15 home runs in 62 games, he’s been even better in the second half. He’s hitting .295/.382/.436 with three home runs in 21 games.

That’s not to mention that O’Neill is also playing Gold Glove caliber defense in the outfield, establishing the unit as one of the best when it entered the season as arguably the Cardinals’ greatest weakness. And losing O’Neill for any length of time would have been the blow that sealed their season, as losing their most consistent hitter this season would have made it borderline impossible to overcome an 11 game deficit in the National League Central.

O’Neill should return to the Cardinals’ lineup either on Wednesday or shortly thereafter, which lessens the blow of his absence, and he will immediately step into a prominent role in the batting order. And with Jack Flaherty and Miles Mikolas about to return, having O’Neill back should maximize their chances of making a late season run.

But with fewer games left to be played and the Cardinals’ deficit increasing by the day, the odds are not in their favor.

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