The St. Louis Cardinals announced they have acquired outfielder Tyler O’Neill from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for left-handed pitcher Marco Gonzales.
O’Neill, 22, was the Mariners third round pick (85th overall) in the 2013 draft out of Garibaldi Secondary School in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada. He is currently rated as the No. 2 prospect in the Mariners organization according to MLB.com’s rankings.
The right-handed hitting O’Neill is 5-foot-11, 210 lbs., and was batting .244 with 19 home runs, 56 RBI, 21 doubles, two triples and nine stolen bases through 93 games for Tacoma (AAA) in the Pacific Coast League. His 19 home runs ranked T8th in the PCL.
In his minor league career, O’Neill hit .269 with 89 home runs and 300 RBI in 418 games. He led the California League with 32 home runs and a 12.72 HR/AB ratio in 2015. Over his most recent five games at Tacoma, O’Neill smacked five home runs and had 11 RBI in 21 at-bats.
The Canadian-born outfielder played in three games for Team Canada in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. His father, Terry, was named Mr. Canada in 1975, an honor bestowed on the top body-builder in the nation.
Gonzales, 25, was the Cardinals first round draft pick (19th overall) out of Gonzaga University in the 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He made seven starts (12 app.) over parts of three Major League seasons with the Cardinals posting a 4-2 record with a 5.53 ERA covering 40.2 innings.
“This was more of a traditional trade in the sense that O’Neill was an outfielder with upside in the Mariners organization and Gonzales was a pitcher with upside in our organization,” said Cardinals Team President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak. “If you look at the depth we have with the pitching in our system, it allowed us to make a move like this to improve. We are excited for Tyler to join our organization.”
O’Neill will report to the Cardinals Triple-A Memphis Redbirds of the Pacific Coast League.
