The Orioles have announced that they have agreed to terms with outfielder Tyler O’Neill on a three-year major league contract for the 2025-27 seasons, with a player opt-out following 2025, and catcher Gary Sánchez on a one-year major league contract for the 2025 season.
Tyler O’Neill
O’Neill, 29, posted impressive stats with the Boston Red Sox in 2024, slashing .241/.336/.511 (99-for-411) with 18 doubles, 31 home runs, 74 runs scored, 61 RBI, 53 walks (5 IBB), seven hit-by-pitches, and four stolen bases in 113 games. His 31 home runs led the team, making him the first Red Sox outfielder to lead in home runs since 2019. O’Neill was named the 2024 Players Choice Awards American League Comeback Player of the Year. He led all qualified MLB players with a .750 slugging percentage and ranked second with a 1.179 OPS against left-handed pitching. Notably, he hit a home run in his fifth straight Opening Day game, a first in MLB history.
O’Neill’s career includes two Gold Gloves (2020, 2021) with the St. Louis Cardinals. He has a career batting line of .246/.322/.469 (462-for-1875) with 85 doubles, three triples, 109 home runs, 313 runs scored, 278 RBI, 189 walks (5 IBB), 29 hit-by-pitches, and 44 stolen bases in 590 games. Born in Burnaby, British Columbia, his 109 homers rank 10th all-time among Canadian-born players and second among active Canadians, behind Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. O’Neill was originally selected by the Seattle Mariners in the third round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft.
Gary Sánchez
Sánchez, 32, slashed .220/.307/.392 (54-for-245) with seven doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 30 runs scored, 37 RBI, 27 walks, and five hit-by-pitches in 89 games with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024. He also played in the National League Wild Card Series against the New York Mets, going 2-for-7 with a double. Seven of his 11 homers came against left-handed pitchers.
Over his 10 MLB seasons, Sánchez has batted .224/.309/.463 (636-for-2836) with 118 doubles, three triples, 184 home runs, 404 runs scored, 485 RBI, 308 walks (9 IBB), and 49 hit-by-pitches in 830 career games. He has hit 151 homers as a catcher since 2016, second only to Kansas City’s Salvador Perez (152). Sánchez finished second in the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year voting and won a Silver Slugger Award in 2017.
Sánchez was originally signed by the New York Yankees as an international free agent on July 2, 2009. He has since played for the Brewers, Mets, Padres, Twins, and Yankees. The Orioles’ 40-man roster now includes 39 players.
