MLB Rumors: Cardinals Looking To Sign Breakout Outfielder to Multi-Year Deal

The St. Louis Cardinals have just one player still headed to arbitration for the 2022 season, but they're hoping that they can circumvent that by signing outfielder Tyler O'Neill to a multi-year contract. 

Tyler O’Neill’s arbitration hearing with #stlcards is set for the first week of May. They remain in conversations about a multi-year contract extension, but now “there’s a clear deadline,” he says.

More coming to @stltoday … https://t.co/W1mubSPF12

— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) April 14, 2022

As reported by Cardinals beat reporter Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the team is in conversations with the 5th-year outfielder, and the early-May arbitration date acts as a "clear deadline" for O'Neill.

The 26-year-old started the season with a bang, launching a home run and driving in 5 runs on Opening Day, picking up where he left off last year. O'Neill had a huge breakout in 2021, blasting 34 HR with 80 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, a .912 OPS and his second Gold Glove award. 

He's a big piece of the Cards' future, and locking him up now on a long-term deal would be a big boon to the club. Even failing an agreement on a contract extension, O'Neill isn't isn't slated to hit free agency until after the 2024 season. 

The Cards recently signed fellow outfielder Harrison Bader to a 2-year, $10.4M deal to avoid arbitration, so perhaps the team could be looking at something more along those lines rather than a long-term deal, though O'Neill would be looking at a higher AAV. 

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