BOSTON – Orioles outfielder Tyler O’Neill started baseball activities today at Fenway Park as he works toward a return from a right wrist injury.

O’Neill went on the injured list retroactive to Aug. 6 due to the inflammation.

“Threw the baseball for the first time today,” he said while standing at his locker in the visiting clubhouse. “So now it’s buildup and baseball progression, and hopefully it goes quick.”

Rosters expand on Sept. 1, but O’Neill might be able to return later this month.

“I haven’t had a specific date set in mind,” he said. “I could see that being reasonable. Hopefully, things progress quickly and I’m back before that, but you never know during the buildup. It might be a little longer. But what I know right now is I’m feeling good, I’m pretty much pain-free. It’s just getting back to baseball shape now.”

O’Neill has made three stops on the IL, the first two for neck inflammation and a left shoulder impingement. He homered in four consecutive games and five of seven before the latest shutdown.

“For sure, it’s frustrating,” he said. “Anytime you go down, it’s not a good feeling. I just feel like I’m letting the team down, I’m letting the guys down here in the locker room. It’s not a good place to be, but I’ve just got to focus on what I can do in the time being, and that’s just getting healthy and making sure I’m crushing rehab the right way taking it day-by-day.

“I’ve been really diligent in my process this time and just trying to get back up to 100 percent. I think I’m close now.”

O’Neill might need a short rehab assignment. The Orioles will decide depending on how much longer he’s out. In the meantime, he wishes that he could take some swings against his former team this week. He has fond memories of Fenway Park, where he hit 16 of his 31 home runs, including three against the Orioles in a September series. He had a walk-off in the 10^th inning against Keegan Akin.

“I really miss hitting BP here,” he said. “It’s a fun time, 310 (feet) to left is always fun to play with. A lot of good memories obviously here in this ballpark. It was a fun year last year playing in Boston. The fans, the city, it’s awesome. It’s one of my favorites for sure. Special time for me coming back even though I’m not playing. So I’m here to support the boys and cheer them on.”

Interim manager Tony Mansolino expects Kyle Bradish to join the rotation sometime between Aug. 25-27. Bradish has one more start to make on his rehab assignment.

Tyler Wells has two more starts to make. Albert Suárez gets one more before making some relief appearances on his assignment. He’ll be shortened up in preparation for his bullpen role with the Orioles.

The Orioles could switch to a six-man rotation next month.

“As we get into September and we get the extra guy, I think it’ll be an interesting conversation on the six-starter thing,” Mansolino said. “It’s definitely something we’re discussing, not anything we’re committing to quite yet. But there’s probably a pretty good chance that happens.”

Tonight’s lineup includes Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers again but excludes Adley Rutschman and Coby Mayo. Mansolino has more appealing choices these days.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “It’s a good problem to have, because we’ve got a couple good players on the bench tonight. But it’s exciting, yesterday and today and tomorrow to write out these lineups with all these names in it and the ability that they have and the fact that they were all drafted and developed by the Baltimore Orioles. It definitely feels really good these last couple days to write these things down.”

Basallo is catching Trevor Rogers, as he did multiple times with Triple-A Norfolk. The familiarity can’t hurt.

“Helps a lot,” Mansolino said. “That was kind of part of the thought. The other part of catching him today and not tomorrow was Trevor’s stuff is probably a little easier to handle, it’s probably a little more power than Tomo (Sugano) in some ways, and not as many options as to what he’s going to call. Tomo’s got a little bit more going on.”

Rutschman will catch Sugano Tuesday night. His work behind the plate is drawing more praise – he’s thrown out 23.4 percent of runners attempting to steal compared to 18.8 in 2024 – and the rotation’s numbers are much better since his return from the IL.

“I told Adley today actually this is the best I’ve seen him catch by far,” Mansolino said. “The receiving is really good right now. If you look at where he ranks in terms of the receiving metrics, this is probably the highest he’s ever ranked, and he’s worked really hard at it this year and he’s made some adjustments to receive better, so that’s great. He’s throwing the ball as good I think as we’ve ever seen him throw the ball right now. He’s always been a great blocker and I think the experience he’s gained in these previous years has allowed him to be really good game-caller.

“Just super-thrilled with how Adley’s catching right now and expect it to continue.”

For the Red Sox

Nate Eaton DH
Roman Anthony RF
Alex Bregman 3B
Romy Gonzalez 2B
Trevor Story SS
Jarren Duran LF
Ceddanne Rafaela CF
Carlos Narváez C
Abraham Toro 1B

Dustin May RHP