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The Baltimore Orioles are 15-31 before taking on the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night. Their start is a drastic change from what Orioles fans have become used to over the last three seasons. Since 2022, Baltimore has won at least 80 games in the regular season and made it to the American League playoffs in the last two seasons.
So far in 2025, the Orioles are at the bottom of the AL East and are just two games ahead of the Chicago White Sox at the bottom of the AL. Brandon Hyde lost his job over the weekend as the team tries to find a quick pivot. Unless Gunnar Henderson leads a turnaround, their former manager won't be the only casualty in the Orioles' efforts to fix what is wrong.
While his three-year, $49.5 million contract was one of Baltimore's biggest offseason moves, Tyler O'Neill's contract looks terrible. He hasn't produced anywhere near enough to justify his big deal, hurting the Orioles both at the plate and in their wallet. Through 24 games played so far in 2025, O'Neill is slashing .188/.280/.325 in one of the worst starts in his eight year career.
Teams around the league were high on O'Neill after his 31 home run campaign in 2024, but Baltimore out-bid them all. After to months in the regular season, the Orioles need to accept that they made a bad decision and move on from O'Neill. His shoulder injury will keep him out for at least another week, but his best opportunity could be elsewhere.
Here are three teams the Orioles could send O'Neill to in order to put him and his contract behind them.
Toronto Blue Jays
Teams rarely ever trade players to teams within their own division. However, it has become more common over the last two years. The St. Louis Cardinals traded for long-time Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras in 2023. At this point in their season, Baltimore can't afford to not explore every possible option, especially when it comes to trading O'Neill. John Schneider and the Toronto Blue Jays need to consider it as well, for no other reason than it fills a position of need.
The 29-year-old is on the injured list and is playing poorly, but Toronto has everything they need to absorb him until he gets back on track. Their offense is at the middle of the pack, but they are in dire need of more power in their order. At his best, O'Neill has as much power as anyone in the league not named Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. As a fielder, he is league average, but that is all he needs to do when playing alongside George Springer and Daulton Varsho.
In return, the Orioles would not necessarily ask for Nathan Lukes in return thanks to the emergence of Heston Kjerstad. They are in need of another reliever, something the Blue Jays have a surplus for. Toronto gives O'Neill an environment where he doesn't need to do as much while absolving Baltimore of an offseason mistake.
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angels Angels traded for Jorge Soler last season, and the 33-year-old got off to a good start. He and Mike Trout were one of the league's most entertaining duos at the beginning of the year. However, after Trout went down with injury, Soler has started to fizzle out. As a result, the Angels are now out of the race in the AL East and could be a selling team at the deadline. Even though he is one the wrong side of 30, Soler is the name to watch.
Ironically, the Orioles thought that O'Neill was going to give them something similar to what Soler gave Los Angeles. Why not trade for the player that actually delivered? Baltimore is full of young players, including Henderson, that will lead their team into the future. Adding an older veteran could give the team the reality check they need.
Soler is a more attractive trade asset than O'Neill, but the 29-year-old's contract could be valuable to the Angels. Los Angeles struggles to keep players with their team thanks to their inconsistencies, but they would have O'Neill for another two and a half years if they trade for him this offseason. That kind of security is what a team fighting through injuries needs moving forward.
Houston Astros
One of the worst moves of the entire Major League Baseball offseason was the Houston Astros move Jose Altuve from second base out to the outfield. The face of their dynasty has severely struggled at left field in 2025. O'Neill gives them an experienced player in that part of the field, as well as another opportunistic bat to make up for the loss of Kyle Tucker.
The Astros' dynasty is in its final stages, and teams that find themselves in that position often take swings on underperforming players. O'Neill would be that kind of bet for Houston. His big right-handed swing plays favorably at Houston's field and he won't be the biggest power hitter on his team anymore while playing with Yordan Alvarez.
With Hyde out the door and Henderson facing all the pressure in the world, O'Neill's exit could do wonders for the team's moral. Baltimore was built on their youth and trading away their offseason addition could unlock their old recipe to success.
