The Orioles announced outfielder Tyler O’Neill had been placed on the seven-day injured list for a concussion Sunday, and the issue stems from an illness he has dealt with since last week.
O’Neill grew very dehydrated Thursday, manager Craig Albernaz said, and he fainted.
“We’re guessing that he probably banged his head a little bit,” Albernaz said. O’Neill’s dizziness the past few days, the Orioles thought, stemmed from his illness. But, once O’Neill was properly hydrated and still felt dizzy Sunday, it became clear the Orioles needed to place him on the injured list.
The Orioles will have another injured list designation soon. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle suffered a broken bone in his left foot — the fourth metatarsal — and will miss an undisclosed chunk of time.
The MRI for catcher Adley Rutschman was “encouraging,” though, Albernaz said. Rutschman was placed on the 10-day injured Saturday because of left ankle inflammation.
O’Neill was scratched from the lineup for Friday’s game against the San Francisco Giants due to an illness, the Orioles said at the time, and Albernaz said O’Neill had been bothered by a bug that was going around Baltimore’s clubhouse. As it turns out, O’Neill’s illness led to a fall, and it only became apparent recently that he was concussed.
O’Neill has had a difficult injury history. This is the fourth time he has been placed on the injured list since joining the Orioles last year, and it’s the 18th injured list placement in his career.
The outfielder was limited to 54 games last season. He hit .199 with a .684 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. O’Neill was off to a decent start to this campaign, having produced a .241 average and .698 OPS.
To replace O’Neill on the active roster, Baltimore recalled outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez, whom the Orioles acquired last month in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians. Rodríguez, 26, debuted in 2024 and has played 44 major league games.
In eight games for Triple-A Norfolk this season, Rodríguez has a .333 average and .860 OPS.
This article has been updated.
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