Orioles considered former D-backs outfielder before signing Tyler O'Neill

Before signing Tyler O'Neill to a 3-year deal, the Orioles were considering Randal Grichuk to fill their outfield.

The Baltimore Orioles signed former Cardinals and Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill to a three-year, $49.5 million deal. O’Neill is expected to play one of the corner outfield spots, possibly right field to replace outgoing free agent Anthony Santander. Another player they considered for the role was former Diamondbacks outfielder Randal Grichuk, per a report from MLB Insider Mark Feinsand.

Grichuk, 33, signed a one-year deal with incentives and a $6 million mutual option for 2025 in February. Coming off offseason ankle surgery, his season debut was delayed to April 5th. He had a successful season in 2024 as the 4th outfielder and primary designated hitter against left-handed pitchers.

Grichuk played in 106 games for Arizona, hitting 291 with 12 home runs and a .875 OPS in 279 plate appearances. He destroyed left-handed pitching in 2024, slashing .319/.386/.528 with six home runs and a 151 wRC+. The D-backs were excellent at creating opportunities, as he held the platoon advantage in 66.0% of their plate appearances. Coming off that strong season, he declined his half of the mutual option and entered the free agent market with a $1.75 million buyout ($500K buyout plus $1.25 million earned in incentives).

The D-backs will be looking to try to fill the role vacated by Grichuk hitting the open market. Currently they lack internal options to fill that role. Their best options are re-signing Grichuk, signing Austin Hays, or trading for Lane Thomas. All three batters performed well against left-handed pitching in 2024, in terms of both bottom line stats and batted ball data.

Stay tuned for more updates on the D-backs, with the Winter Meetings starting this week.

Michael McDermott is a Contributor to FanSided’s MLB coverage on Call to the Pen, Venom Strikes, Dodgers Way, and Friars on Base. He has been writing about the Arizona Diamondbacks, and their minor league system, for 9 seasons for AZ Snake Pit, Diamondbacks on SI, and Burn City Sports.