Red Sox slugger Tyler O'Neill talks about his recent hospital stay, hoping to return to lineup
Red Sox outfielder Tyler O’Neill has been on the injured list, dealing with a leg infection that resulted in being admitted to the hospital for five days.
He was first admitted during last week’s road series in Kansas City, and after flying home with the Red Sox, he was admitted again to Mass General Hospital on Saturday, where he stayed until Tuesday.
“Pretty scary for a couple of days,” O’Neill said. “The MGH doctors and medical staff over there took really good care of me over the weekend into yesterday, so feeling a lot better, happy to be back on my feet.”
O’Neill declined to get into specifics on what kind of infection he was dealing with while talking to reporters at Fenway Park on Wednesday afternoon.
“Totally unexpected; I have no idea how it happened,” O’Neill said. “I had to get on antibiotics right away, get on a drip for a little bit, and I’m just thankful to everyone who was involved in getting me back on the right foot.”
While in the hospital, O’Neill said he lost a couple of pounds and wasn’t able to do any physical activities. The slugger was able to get back on the field on Tuesday and has begun to resume baseball activities on Wednesday.
“Hospitals are no fun, but I needed to be in there for a little bit,” said O’Neill. “Again, they took really good care of me, and I'm grateful for everybody that was a part of it and the healing process, and just happy to be back. Happy to be back with the team, live a little bit of normalcy, and hopefully (I'll return to the field) sooner than later."
O’Neill has been an important member of the Red Sox lineup this season. He’s slashed .268/.357/.444 through 342 plate appearances in 2024 with 24 homers, sitting one behind Rafael Devers.
Red Sox skipper Alex Cora is ready to welcome O’Neill’s bat back into the lineup and is hopeful he will be ready for one of the games down in Baltimore.
"When I heard about it, I was kind of like, 'This is very serious,'" Cora said. "He's moving around. I had a conversation with him. He's flying with us to Baltimore. (He will) track bullpens, take (batting practice) on the field, shag, and do all that stuff. I'll be surprised if he plays in Baltimore, but you never know. He's a grinder; he wants to play, so we'll see how it goes today, tomorrow, and what we gotta do over the weekend for him to be ready."
