SARASOTA, Fla. -- The disappointment and frustration felt by Tyler O'Neill during a challenging 2025 season -- his first after signing a three-year, $49.5 million deal with the Orioles -- fueled the 30-year-old outfielder during his offseason work over the winter. It has continued to provide motivation since he reported to Spring Training a little more than two weeks ago.
O'Neill knows he can be a better, healthier player than the one Baltimore fans watched last year.
"I don’t think there’s any hiding that last year was a big disappointment for me," O'Neill said. "I don’t feel like that’s a representation of me, my skill set and the quality of player that I am and what I can bring to this ball club. I know there’s a lot more in the tank, and I’ve been working really hard. ...
"I’m just trying to do my part and produce the way that Tyler O’Neill produces."
So far, O'Neill appears to be in a great spot to do exactly that. He went 2-for-2 with an RBI double, a single and a walk in the Orioles' 4-3 win over the Rays at Ed Smith Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, and he's 4-for-6 through his first three Grapefruit League games, reaching base in six of his eight plate appearances.
It's only late February, and O'Neill knows there's a lot of work still to do in order to have a bounce-back season. But the slugger is off to an encouraging start.
"The swing feels a lot better than last year," O'Neill said. "I was fighting myself in the box, through my prep, just every step of the way. This year, I just feel more fluid, more athletic and just more balanced, man. I just feel like a true hitter in the box right now."
After hitting 31 home runs and posting an .847 OPS over 113 games for the Red Sox in 2024, O'Neill hit only .199 with nine homers and a .684 OPS in '25. The toughest part of his season were the injuries that limited the slugger to 54 games, as he went on the injured list three times due to neck inflammation (April 24-May 9), a left shoulder impingement (May 16-July 4) and right wrist inflammation (Aug. 6-Sept. 12).
While O'Neill's offseason work largely centered around fine-tuning his swing and making mechanical adjustments at the plate, he also focused on trying to get his body in a good spot to stay healthier. He still has one of the more muscular physiques in Orioles camp, but he's a bit slimmer, which he believes could help his durability.
"Just like any player, as you get wear and tear on you as you play this game, there's always adjustments to either your diet, your mobility work," manager Craig Albernaz said. "He's making adjustments, and he looks really good out there, moving well in the outfield. He looks really good in the box swinging it. I expect Tyler is going to have a big year this year."
If O'Neill returns to form, it would be an added boost to what could be one of the most powerful lineups in baseball. O'Neill has been joined by two fellow right-handed sluggers, with the O's signing first baseman Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million deal and acquiring Taylor Ward in a trade with the Angels.
On Wednesday, O'Neill batted cleanup behind Ward and Alonso in the O's spring lineup. But soon, the native of Burnaby, British Columbia will continue his buildup for the season in a different manner.
O'Neill will leave Orioles camp in the near future to join Team Canada for the upcoming World Baseball Classic. The Canadians are in Pool A and will be playing their first games in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
"I feel like if we started playing those games tomorrow, I’d be ready to rock," O'Neill said. "I could be playing on [a backfield] with a Canada logo across my chest and the Maple Leaf on my forehead and I’d have a bunch of adrenaline flowing through my system. Whenever you represent your country on an international stage, there’s just a different aspect to it."
The WBC could provide an opportunity at sports redemption for Canada, which lost to the United States in the men's ice hockey gold medal game on the final day of the Winter Olympics this past Sunday. Many players in the Orioles' clubhouse watched the game together and cheered on the U.S.
O'Neill, who grew up on the ice playing hockey and wishes overtime would have featured 5-on-5 play rather than 3-on-3, was hoping for a different result.
"That was a tough loss for us, man. It was a hard-fought battle all the way until the end," O'Neill said. "But what a great game nonetheless."