O'Neill is expected to begin the season as the Cardinals' starting left fielder, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

EDGE Analysis

Just how long O'Neill keeps the job remains to be seen, as highly touted prospect Dylan Carlson could begin to steal at-bats quite early in the year. Still, O'Neill appears to have beaten out Lane Thomas for the starting role at the beginning of the campaign. O'Neill has shown both potential and cause for concern through his first 293 big-league plate appearances, hitting 14 homers while posting a .258/.307/.454 slash line (good for a 103 wRC+) but also striking out in 37.5 percent of his plate appearances.

O'Neill will begin the team's summer camp as a primary contender for the starting left field job, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

O'Neill and Lane Thomas will resume the heated competition they were engaged in before spring training was suspended. The slugger appeared to be losing ground to the rookie at that point, and with elite prospect Dylan Carlson projected to be available in some form throughout the regular season, O'Neill will have to likely steer clear of any prolonged slumps and contact issues to keep a hold of the starting role if he secures it coming out of summer camp.

O'Neill was recently cited by assistant coach Willie McGee for, among other traits, his underrated speed, Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "He can run, man," McGee said. "I didn't know he was that quick. He's right up there in the league with all the rest of them from home to first."

EDGE Analysis

McGee, whose responsibilities include coaching the team's outfielders, recently provided his assessment of several of his charges from his home in San Francisco. Regarding O'Neill, who's had some struggles making consistent contact during his first two big-league stints, McGee emphasizes the tools are far from lacking, noting the 24-year-old is "a lot better than what he's shown." The once-fleet-footed outfielder also notes the key to O'Neill taking the next step in his development is a more relaxed approach, theorizing that if and when the slugger settles into an everyday role, his ample natural abilities will shine through. However, job security was potentially an issue for O'Neill when spring training was suspended, as he'd hit just .219 (7-for-32) during Grapefruit League play and had seen Lane Thomas seemingly close the gap in a bid for the starting left field job.

O'Neill may have been close to being overtaken by Lane Thomas for the starting left field job when spring training was suspended, Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

EDGE Analysis

The burly outfielder had opened spring training hot at the plate, slugging two home runs over his first five Grapefruit League games. However, Frederickson notes that by the time play was paused, Thomas had out-homered O'Neill by a 3-2 margin and also had a 40-point advantage in on-base percentage. O'Neill was hitting just .219 (7-for-32) over 13 exhibition contests by the time spring training was suspended, and the aforementioned pair of homers he launched early marked the only times he left the yard during the spring slate. Frederickson does add that he believes O'Neill will still get the nod if the battle is deemed close enough by manager Mike Shildt, as the team remains very high on the slugger's upside.

O'Neill is hitting .308 (4-for-13) with two home runs and three RBI over his first five Grapefruit League games heading into Tuesday's action.

EDGE Analysis

The slugging outfielder went deep Sunday against the Astros for his second round tripper of the exhibition slate and is off to a good start in terms of making a case for the starting job in left field. O'Neill was hampered by a wrist injury late last season, but he generated a solid .262/.311/.411 line with six doubles, five home runs, 16 RBI, 10 walks and 18 runs across 151 plate appearances in 2019 during what was his second big-league tour of duty. He has formidable competition in the form of surging prospect Dylan Carlson, but given his prodigious power and past major-league experience, O'Neill could certainly take a hold of the everyday job with a strong enough spring.

O'Neill (wrist) was activated off the 10-day injured list Friday.

EDGE Analysis

O'Neill landed on the shelf with a left wrist strain at the start of August and will rejoin the Cardinals after being sidelined for nearly a full month. The 24-year-old has a .279/.316/.434 slash line in 46 games and figures to mostly work as the fourth outfielder for the stretch run.

O'Neill (wrist) went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs overall while playing eight innings in right field during Double-A Springfield's loss to Frisco on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

O'Neill continued his successful sojourn through the minors with Tuesday's multi-hit effort. The slugger has hit safely in all five rehab games, and given the power he displayed versus Frisco, appears to be on the verge of activation.

O'Neill (wrist) went 1-for-5 with a double while playing 10 innings in right field during Double-A Springfield's extra-inning loss to Frisco on Monday.

EDGE Analysis

O'Neill has now played back-to-back full games on defense, with the first coming at Triple-A Memphis on Sunday. The 24-year-old has hit safely in all four of his rehab games thus far and appears to have his wrist near full strength given his recent level of participation.

O'Neill (wrist) is 2-for-6 with three walks and a run over his last two rehab games with Triple-A Memphis.

EDGE Analysis

O'Neill worked up to playing a full game in left field Saturday, an important step in his quest for activation. The slugging outfielder is slated to remain with the Redbirds until his recovering wrist is back to normal, but early returns appear to indicate he's quickly drawing closer to that benchmark.

O'Neill (wrist) went 1-for-3 while playing six innings in left field during Triple-A Memphis' win over Round Rock on Wednesday.

EDGE Analysis

O'Neill suited up for the first of what is expected to be several rehab games with the Redbirds. The recovering outfielder is projected to work up to playing a full game in the field before activation, but given that a wrist injury particularly affects a player's swing, he'll also need to log sufficient at-bats to feel comfortable before a return to the big-league club comes to pass.