Mike

O'Neill

Passan notes that Liberatore will head to St. Louis in a deal for major league pieces while adding that the Rays have been looking for MLB-ready outfielders. Jon Heyman of MLB Network notes that Harrison Bader, Tyler O’Neill and Jose Martinez are names that have been discussed in a potential transaction. The 16th overall pick of the 2018 draft, Liberatore is considered one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, and he posted a 3.10 ERA with a 76/31 K/BB ratio over 78 1/3 innings for Low-A Bowling Green in 2019. With four pitches that can miss bats and command that projects above-average, Liberatore immediately becomes one of the top prospects in the St. Louis system, assuming that is his final destination.

Fowler gets a night off, and the Cardinals will go with Tyler O’Neill in left, Yairo Munoz in center and Jose Martinez in right against the Bucs non Tuesday.

O’Neill, who turns 26 in February, batted .313/.424/.369 with two home runs, 38 RBI and 19 stolen bases this year between Double- and Triple-A. He doesn’t have much power, but possesses a knack for getting on base.

O’Neill batted .338/.426/.438 with three home runs and nine stolen bases in 97 games last season for the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Canadian-American Association. The soon-to-be 29-year-old is expected to open the 2017 campaign with the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The 29-year-old outfielder had been in camp with the Tigers on a non-guaranteed minor league contract. O’Neill batted .338/.426/.438 with three home runs and nine stolen bases in 97 games last season for the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Canadian-American Association.

O’Neill cleared waivers after being designated for assignment. The 26-year-old will continue to function as organizational depth in the outfield for the Cardinals.

They needed to clear space on the 40-man roster for the addition of George Kottaras. O’Neill has been an on-base machine (.418 OBP) in the minors but is hitting just .258/.343/.341 in a return back to Double-A this year. Still, some team could see the gaudy walk total and take a shot on the 26-year-old as an extra outfielder.

O’Neill was part of an early round of cuts on Monday in Cardinals camp. The 26-year-old posted good numbers last summer between Double-A and Triple-A, but he is far down the St. Louis outfield depth chart.

O’Neill didn’t have a real shot to make the Cubs’ roster and will now look for a job elsewhere. He’s always got on base at a high clip in the minors (career .412 OBP), but 28-year-old probably can’t hold up against major league pitching.