Red Sox’s Tyler O’Neill spent four days in hospital with ‘scary’ infection

Tyler O’Neill, an outfielder with the Red Sox, hasn’t played since early August, and it looks the cause wasn’t as straightforward as initially believed.

O’Neill disclosed on Wednesday that he spent four days in the hospital due to the injury that has prevented him from playing since August 2.

The two-time Gold Glover started playing baseball again on Tuesday, and he is currently on the team’s road.

“Very frightening for a few days,” O’Neill remarked. “I feel a lot better and am happy to be back on my feet because the doctors and medical staff over at Massachusetts General Hospital took really good care of me over the weekend into yesterday.”

After taking a few days off due to an unidentified sickness, O’Neill developed a leg infection, which led Boston to place him on the disabled list on August 7.

O’Neill and the group didn’t know what was going on at the moment.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora stated, “I spoke with [O’Neill] and he said, ‘Alex, I have no idea what happened,'” according to MLB.com. “He was in terrible form when [athletic trainer Jon Jochim] saw him in Texas. Then, I believe it was the final day when his leg was really big. He has been receiving treatment, and he and the medical team are making every effort to take care of this. It simply took place. He is unsure. When he awoke in the morning, [his leg] was really large.

Cora said that O’Neill has been “frustrated” with the latest setback in a season beset by injuries.

Cora reportedly expressed frustration on Tuesday, saying, “It’s been taking a while,” as reported by The Boston Globe. It’s been taking a long time, and this appeared out of nowhere. He has to start playing baseball, but nothing has happened yet.

O’Neill had been placed on the injured list three times already this season, having previously missed time in May due to knee irritation and receiving stitches following an April on-field accident.

O’Neill only played in 168 games in 2022 and 2023 combined due to ailments that have plagued him in recent seasons.

When he plays on the field this season, he has been a star, hitting.268/.357/.544 with 22 home runs and 45 RBIs in 80 games.