ST. LOUIS—The Cardinals have traded outfielder Tyler O’Neill to Boston, ending the sculpted but injury-prone slugger’s tenure in St. Louis after six seasons. In exchange, the Red Sox sent pitcher Nick Robertson, coming off his rookie season, and Victor Santos, a minor league pitching prospect to the Cardinals.

“As we look to add pitching depth, as well as address concerns on potential playing time in the outfield, we felt this deal worked well in addressing both of those issues,” said Cardinals’ President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak said in a statement.  “We are excited to add Nick to our bullpen, and we feel Victor gives us added depth in our minor league system.”

Mozeliak said publicly at this week’s Winter Meetings that if the season were to begin today, Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman and Jordan Walker likely comprised the team’s starting outfield trio, with Dylan Carlson in a reserve role and that the team had been taking calls on trades involving O’Neill, who put up MVP consideration-worthy statistics in 2021 along with a pair of Gold Glove awards in 2020 and 2021, but has otherwise struggled to stay healthy enough to be a regular lineup presence.

Robertson joins his third Major League organization in less than a calendar year after reaching the big leagues with the Dodgers before the right-hander was traded to Boston in a trade for Kike Hernandez. Robertson struck out 26 hitters in just over 22 MLB innings in 2023. Santos, also a right-hander, missed the 2023 season due to arm issues but has been pitching in the Dominican Winter League, with a 3-0 record and a 2.96 ERA in seven games, mostly as a starting pitcher. He has not pitched above the AAA level.

Robertson will be added to the team’s 40-man roster.