Ex-Cardinals Slugger Predicted To Get $50 Million Contract

The former Cardinals slugger is going to have a good winter

Feb 26, 2021; Jupiter, Florida, USA; A general view of the St. Louis Cardinals logo on the stadium at Roger Dean Stadium during spring training workouts. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images / Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

One former member of the St. Louis Cardinals had a great 2024 season and likely will cash in this winter.

St. Louis was very active last offseason, and one position group the team wanted to address was the outfield. The Cardinals seemingly had a surplus of talented outfielders and made moves accordingly to make room on the roster and free up playing time.

The Cardinals traded two-time Gold Glove Award winner Tyler O'Neill to the Boston Red Sox after he spent the first six seasons of his big league career in St. Louis.

O'Neill showed many flashes throughout his time with the Cardinals. When healthy, he looked like a superstar and even finished eighth in the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting in 2021.

Injuries derailed him afterward, and so the Cardinals moved him. He ended up playing in 113 games for Boston and launched 31 home runs. O'Neill also drove in 61 runs. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, injuries popped up and they never truly were fully healthy in the outfield.

O'Neill was traded in part because of the fact that he would be a free agent at the end of the 2024 season. He now is expected to cash in with Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller predicting him to get a deal worth roughly $50 million.

"O'Neill has been all sorts of banged up over the past three years, playing in just two more games (281) than perpetually injured Byron Buxton (279) and six fewer games than Rhys Hoskins (287), who missed the entire 2023 campaign and 31 more contests this season," Miller said. "He does play more often than Kris Bryant, Mike Trout, or Anthony Rendon, but you do kind of have to assume he's going to miss chunks of time throughout his contract.

"That will likely keep him from getting paid like he arguably should be for slugging almost as well over the past four seasons (.483) as Manny Machado (.489) and better than Giancarlo Stanton (.472). Three years at around $50M total could be a steal."

A deal isn't going to happen with St. Louis, but he will get paid elsewhere.

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