The Orioles brought in Tyler O’Neill to beef up their game against lefties.
The Orioles have undergone many changes over the past few seasons. As the rebuild began to bear fruit, things began to shift. But even as the Orioles got a new hotshot catcher, a superstar shortstop, and other potential All-Stars, the outfield remained comfortable. We could look out there and see Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins, and Anthony Santander.
Then, last year, Colton Cowser took over for Hays. Santander was lost to a big free-agent deal north of the border. He’s replaced by Tyler O’Neill, who is, funnily enough, Canadian. Cedric Mullins remains in center field as a key piece of this team, but he will reach free agency at the end of the season.
This outfield has the potential to be one of the most well-rounded in baseball. Cowser is coming off a 2nd place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting (and let’s be honest, he should have won). O’Neill mashed 31 home runs in 113 games for the Red Sox last year. And Mullins remains one of the more solid center fielders in the game. None of these outfielders are superstars, but together they provide a solid offense and defense. Expect Ramón Laureano and Heston Kjerstad to have supporting roles.
Colton Cowser
Cower was the primary left fielder in 2024 after Hays was sidelined with injury and ineffectiveness. It was a sad end to Hays’s Orioles chapter, but Cowser stepped up incredibly. He made 91 starts in left field and got off to a scorching start with an OPS over 1.000 in March and April. He followed with a terrible May but evened out over the rest of the year.
Spring stats usually mean nothing, but I still prefer good numbers. Cowser batted .364/.462/.578 in 18 spring games.
Cowser thrived against right-handed pitchers last year and struggled with lefties. His .661 OPS against lefties was still quite a bit better than what Mullins could do, so expect to see him in the lineup against lefties even with the subpar numbers.
Cowser proved himself a plus defender in left field last year and even looked good when spelling Mullins in center. He could do the same this year or that role could go to Laureano, who has played center over his career.
Cowser posted an fWAR of 4.0 last season and ZiPS projects him to get to 3.3 this season.
Cedric Mullins
Mullins will remain the primary center fielder for the Orioles this year and rightly so. He remains an above-average fielder, and his bat plays well against right-handed pitchers. Mullins has played in 578 games with the Orioles since the start of the 2021 season. He turned 30 years old last October.
It was mentioned above but Mullins has a problem with lefties. You might even call it a Problem. He’s never been good against lefties but things got especially dire in 2024 when he hit just .196/.228/.279 against them. That is incredibly bad.
Will the Orioles bench Mullins against lefties? The numbers support it but I wouldn’t be surprised if he saw some action against them. He is an everyday player and an asset in the field and on the basepaths. If those numbers from last year don’t go up it could become impossible to justify, however.
Mullins’s fWAR in 2024 was 2.4; ZiPS projects him at 2.8 this season.
Tyler O’Neill
He’s the new kid! That’s not to say he looks like a kid. His muscles have muscles. It’s almost absurd. He used those muscles to mash quite a few taters last year with the Red Sox, an impressive performance that landed him in a possible three-year contract with the Orioles.
One of Mike Elias’s goals in the off-season was to get some outfielders who can hit lefties and O’Neill is exactly that. In his career, he has a .923 OPS against lefties. It was even better last year at 1.180. Those numbers dwarf his stat against right-handed pitchers, where he has a career mark below league average.
O’Neill figures to play right field mostly and could also see time in left. Though his numbers are much better against lefties than righties, I don’t expect he’ll be a platoon bat. He was signed to play. He may get a rest against tougher lefties or when the Orioles want to get Kjerstad in the mix.
The biggest question mark for O’Neill is his health. In seven major-league seasons, he has topped 100 games just twice. He played 138 in 2021, his best season in the majors to date. And he got into 113 games last year and hit the IL three times.
O’Neill’s fWAR in 2024 was 2.5; ZiPS projects 2.9 this season.
Heston Kjerstad
Oh, what to do with Kjerstad? The Orioles are constantly saying that they want to find at-bats for him, but they have yet to find a place to consistently play him. Kjerstad bats lefty the same as Mullins and Cowser. Unlike those two, he doesn’t have a reputation for being good at defense.
In addition to getting playing time in right field this year, Kjerstad will see time at DH. Unfortunately for him, the team’s primary DH is Ryan O’Hearn, who is also a lefty batter. O’Hearn could step in some at first base for the righty Ryan Mouncastle which could make room for Kjerstad in the lineup.
Ramón Laureano
The offseason signing of Laureano didn’t do much for me, but he does offer value as a backup outfielder. He has played 353 games in center field over his seven-year career, though it hasn’t been his primary position for several seasons.
Laureano has never had a bat worth paying attention to, but he is right-handed batter. On a team with so many lefties, that is valuable. In his career he’s got an .802 OPS against lefties with a .343 OBP. That’ll play. Last season his numbers were even better.
When the Orioles sit Mullins against lefties, Laureano will go into the lineup. We just have to wait and see if he plays center field, or if the Orioles prefer Cowser there.