With Mullins set in center, what do the corner OF spots look like for O's?

With Cedric Mullins set as the O’s center fielder, what do the outfield corners look like? Tyler O’Neill, who signed a free agent deal for three years for $49.5 million that included an opt out after one season, is expected to get many of the starts in right field. Young Heston Kjerstad is also part of that right-field mix no doubt with Colton Cowser, who finished second in the American League Rookie of the Year voting, mostly in left field.

O’Neill, who turns 30 on June 22, last year for Boston made 56 starts in left field, 34 in right field and 17 as the DH. He was named the Red Sox Comeback Player of the Year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America's Boston chapter. O’Neill missed 27 games due to three stints on the injured list.

But over 113 games and 473 plate appearances with Boston, he hit .241/.336/.511/.847 with a 132 OPS+ that was just below Anthony Santander’s 134. Santander is still available in free agency.

O’Neill was a prolific batter versus lefty pitching last season, hitting .313/.430/.750/1.180 with a wRC+ of 215 off southpaws. Against right-handers he batted .209/.290/.403/.693 for a wRC+ of 91. Now he can take aim at the closer fences in left-field and left-center at Oriole Park. 

A Gold Glover in the outfield in 2020 and 2021, O’Neill has made 36 career starts in center field and could spell Mullins there at times as Mullins hit just .196 with a .506 OPS in 2024 versus left-handed pitching.

The player that might truly benefit with more at-bats if Santander is gone for 2025 is Kjerstad, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. Kjerstad, who turns 26 next month, has 52 big league games under his belt.

In 39 games and 99 at-bats in two stints for the 2024 O’s, he hit .253/.351/.394/.745 with two doubles, four homers and 14 RBIs. In that small sample, which was interrupted by a concussion, Kjerstad produced a respectable 119 OPS+.

Kjerstad was drilled by an 0-2 pitch at 97 mph in the helmet on July 12 by the Yankees' Clay Holmes. It left him with a concussion and caused a benches-clearing incident.

Kjerstad would go on the seven-day concussion IL and returned to play from July 20-29, but he went just 2-for-18 with seven strikeouts in that span. He was optioned back to Triple-A, but the option was later voided as he went on the 10-day IL instead with lingering concussion symptoms. He would not play for the Orioles again until Sept. 15 at Detroit. He went 7-for-30 with a homer the rest of the way. He was 0-for-2 in the Wild Card series with Kansas City. 

Kjerstad has had 814 plate appearances in Double-A and Triple-A over the 2023 and 2024 seasons and is reaching the point where there is not much more for him to do and/or polish up on the farm. Kjerstad does have two minor league options remaining.

The Orioles have to feel good about having Cowser in left field. He finished second for AL Rookie of the Year after batting .242/.321/.447/.768 with 24 doubles, three triples, 24 homers, 77 runs, 69 RBIs and with an OPS+ of 123. Nice year after he hit just .115 in 26 games the year before.

Cowser went through an extended stretch where he struggled to hit to emerge as a ROY candidate. That was impressive. Because, in 60 games from May 1 through July 14 and the All-Star game, Cowser hit .183/.278/.328/.606.

That was after his fantastic start where he was named AL Rookie of the Month for April when he had an OPS of 1.004 by the end of the first full month.

It was great to see him rebound from that 60-game poor stretch to produce an OPS of .814 in the second half. He sure rode some highs and lows last season which should be a good experience to realize he can come out of a slump the next time it happens.

International signing day: The Orioles added a class of 22 on the first day of the new international amateur signing period. 

Among the club's key signings were Dominican-born shortstop José Luis Peña, age 16, for $1 million dollars. They added Dominican outfielder Johanse Gómez for $750,000 and Ronald Terrero, a shortstop from Cuba for $600,000. The O's also added Cuba-born shortstop Meykel Baro for $500,000 and catcher Yeison Acosta from Cuba for $375,000.

For more on the new class with some comments from Koby Perez, the club's vice president of international scouting and operations, click here.