Orioles Place Tyler O’Neill On Concussion-Related IL

The Orioles announced that outfielder Tyler O’Neill has been placed on the seven-day injured list for concussion-related injuries, retroactive to April 9.  Outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez was called up from Triple-A to take O’Neill’s spot on the active roster.

O’Neill was scratched from Friday’s lineup due to illness and he also didn’t play Saturday.  Nausea is a common concussion symptom, so it could be that O’Neill’s head issue was initially confused for just a normal sickness.  Due to the uncertain nature of concussion symptoms, O’Neill could be feeling fine well before his seven-day stint is over or he might be facing an extended absence.

With 11 other players already on the regular IL, the Orioles can only hope that O’Neill won’t miss much time.  Among position players, O’Neill joins Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, and Adley Rutschman on the IL, with Rutschman sidelined yesterday by left ankle inflammation.  If that wasn’t enough, Ryan Mountcastle hurt his left foot in last night’s game, and both Mountcastle and Rutschman were slated to undergo MRIs today.

Rodriguez was placed on Baltimore’s medical taxi squad earlier today, seemingly aboard as a replacement for Mountcastle before news surfaced of O’Neill’s IL placement.  Acquired from the Guardians a couple of weeks ago, Rodriguez has hit .176/.282/.304 over 117 career plate appearances in the majors, all with Cleveland during the 2024-25 seasons.

The first season of O’Neill’s three-year, $49.5MM contract with the O’s was basically a bust, as he hit only .199/.292/.392 over 209 plate appearances.  Neck, wrist, and shoulder injuries limited O’Neill to 54 games, continuing the string of injuries that has plagued the outfielder over his nine Major League seasons.  While O’Neill couldn’t continue his streak of Opening Day home runs this year, he was off to a better start in 2026, hitting .241/.353/.345 for a 114 wRC+ over his first 34 PA.