Sometimes, it can be hard to keep up with everything that happens in the world of baseball. Sure, we do our best to make sure to know all that we can about the Mariners, but that means that other things will occasionally fall by the wayside. Like Tuesday night, and the potential break between former Mariners OF Tyler O'Neill and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Being told to go on a hit to right, O'Neill ended up thrown out at home plate by Ronald Acuna Jr... who just so happens to have the second-strongest arm in all of baseball. Probably not smart to run on him even though O'Neill is great on the bases, ranking 15th in Sprint Speed in 2022.
O'Neill was benched Wednesday morning for their game that day following the play at the plate. If their coach, Oli Marmol, would've kept his mouth shut and kept this in-house, then no one would know there was an issue. They could've talked about it in the clubhouse, address the supposed lack of hustle on the play (hard to see here, but I don't really see it), and move forward without damaging anyone's reputation.
Instead, we've seen a public call out from the manager as well as a public rebuttal in an interview with O'Neill. I can't fault O'Neill, as he mentioned that it should've been held behind closed doors.
I mention all of this because... Could the Mariners look to re-acquire Tyler O'Neill?
For those who may not remember, whether it be bad memory or new to Mariners fandom, Tyler O'Neill was actually sent to the Cardinals back in 2017 for Marco Gonzales in a straight-up swap. Both have had their ups and downs, but it seems like a trade that saw positive play on both sides. Marco led the rotation here for a long time, and O'Neill is a promising young OF with a nice power/speed combo, showing big-time power potential with a 34 HR campaign in 2021.
We know that the Mariners need another bat in the lineup. Despite adding Wong and Teoscar, Pollock, and a hopefully improved Kelenic, plenty of fans still complain on a regular basis about "not doing enough." Well, the Mariners have spots available, whether it comes from cutting Tommy La Stella or ridding themselves of recently acquired Cooper Hummel.
O'Neill could instantly slot into a corner outfield spot and take the bulk of those available at-bats. We could keep Haggerty and Moore in their UTIL roles, and rotate Kelenic, Pollock, Teo, and O'Neill through the corners and DH spot. Personally, I think it would be really intriguing to see this happen, and I'm very interested in it as a possibility.
With both sides of the Cardinals coming out publically, I wonder if this is a situation that can fully be repaired. There is likely to be animosity that lingers as long as O'Neill (or Marmol) is there, and someone will likely be calling the Cardinals to try and take advantage of the situation and swipe O'Neill. If the Mariners are serious about adding a solid piece with high potential, at a low price possibly, then O'Neill would be a great choice.