![\"O'Neill](\"https:\/\/www.masnsports.com\/images\/easyblog_articles\/82648\/b2ap3_large_GettyImages-2174509853.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Orioles announced the signings in free agency of outfielder Tyler O\u2019Neill and catcher Gary S\u00e1nchez earlier today. Physicals were passed and contracts inked.<\/p>\n
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O\u2019Neill received a three-year deal for $49.5 million and S\u00e1nchez received a one-year deal for $8 million.<\/p>\n
The 40-man roster has 39 players, leaving room if the Orioles want to make a selection in Wednesday afternoon\u2019s Rule 5 draft that wraps up the Winter Meetings.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty clearly two profiles we had been seeking going into the offseason,\u201d executive vice president\/general manager Mike Elias said during his media scrum at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. \u201cThey both bring tremendous amounts of right-handed power. They\u2019re good against both sides, righty and lefty pitching, but extremely productive, Tyler in particular, against left-handed pitching. That’s something that you look at the composition of the rest of our team was a relative weakness. We have a lot of left-handed hitters, particularly in the outfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Neill replaces Anthony Santander, who remains on the free-agent market and reportedly is attracting interest from other teams in the division.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery soft spot for me, somebody I care about a lot,\u201d manager Brandon Hyde said earlier today at his media scrum.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s gone through a lot for the last six years. Watch a guy grow from this young player with a lot of tools to put himself in this position. So proud of him honestly. Put himself in this position to get to free agency, to get a big deal, to have people \u2026 There’s a lot of teams that would love to have Anthony Santander. To put himself in that position, very, very proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elias indicated that O\u2019Neill will be a regular presence in the lineup. He won\u2019t be exposed to a platoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll see him in all three positions,\u201d Elias said. \u201cBut I think you\u2019ll see him in left and right. What the ratio ends up being, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more than three outfielders, and now I think we\u2019ve got a really strong outfield mix.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Neill went on the injured list three times this season and has exceeded 100 games only twice in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the injuries that he has had have been minor,\u201d Elias said. \u201cThey\u2019re things that have blown over. Hopefully we can keep him healthy. We’re not asking him to play 162 games. We\u2019ll take good care of him. We\u2019ll have DH at-bats available for him. We\u2019ll have days, maybe we\u2019re facing a tough righty where he\u2019s not going to be in the lineup. It’s somebody that brings a lot of talent to our roster.<\/p>\n
“We’re not asking for the moon from him. It’s somebody that we want to have a nice, long relationship with and we’ll do our best to work with him and keep him healthy with his strength and conditioning and training routines.”<\/p>\n
Elias also told the assembled media that he could bring in another outfielder. Unsaid is whether it would be a minor league deal to increase depth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely think we have room for more,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to keep in touch with the market and see where it all falls, but obviously this was a really big piece for the outfield.\u201d<\/p>\n
* The Nationals won the draft lottery and received the first overall pick for the third time in club history. They had a 10.2 percent odds of finishing first.<\/p>\n
Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser announced the picks on MLB Network.<\/p>\n
Ethan Holliday, the younger brother of Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday, is regarded as the No. 1 prospect.<\/p>\n
“It’ll make for easy flights,\u201d Cowser said on MLB Network.<\/p>\n
The Nationals are followed in the top 10 by the Angels, the Mariners, the Rockies, the Cardinals, the Pirates, the Marlins, the Blue Jays, the Reds and the White Sox. The Rockies and Marlins had the best odds.<\/p>\n
The Orioles have the 19th selection.<\/p>\n
* The Yankees reportedly have an agreement with left-hander Max Fried on an eight-year, $218 million contract. ESPN\u2019s Jeff Passan was first with the news.<\/p>\n
Teams in search of an ace can pivot to Corbin Burnes and further complicate the Orioles\u2019 attempts to land a No. 1 starter.<\/p>\n
Another starter linked to the Orioles has come off the board, with Robert Murray of FanSided first reporting that Nathan Eovaldi and the Rangers are in agreement on a contract. Passan says it\u2019s a three-year deal for $75 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remain confident that we\u2019re going to do the best we can to make the decision that\u2019s the best decision for the Orioles, not just for 2025, but for the long run,\u201d said assistant general manager Sig Mejdal. \u201cAnd if that is a No. 1 starter, wonderful. If it\u2019s some other combination of players, that\u2019s great, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
* Cowser told reporters that he should be ready for spring training after undergoing surgery on his broken left hand.<\/p>\n
The injury occurred when Cowser was hit by a pitch while swinging at it in Game 2 of the Wild Card series.<\/p>\n
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