MINNEAPOLIS — There is a long way to go before the three-year contract given to Tyler O’Neill before the 2025 season is seen in a positive light, and it’s possible the dismal displays of last season have already rendered that impossible.

There are, at least, signs of life for the Orioles outfielder where there were almost none during an injury-riddled 2025 and a challenging start to this season. Look at what the 31-year-old has done over the last few months, and maybe, just maybe, there’s reason to believe in this right-handed bat.

The Orioles don’t have much choice but to believe in him. He’s here on a guaranteed $49.5 million contract, and after trading away outfielder Taylor Ward, Baltimore will lean on O’Neill more heavily for right-handed thump.

What the Orioles are seeing of late is one of the few bright spots in a difficult campaign.

“We know what he’s capable of and, obviously, injuries have kind of screwed that up a little bit, but it’s been unbelievable at-bats,” shortstop Gunnar Henderson said. “Couldn’t be happier for him. We know what kind of hitter he is and what he can do, and I’m just glad to see it start to come to fruition.”

O’Neill hasn’t fully dug himself out of the hole he built by the end of May.

“It was obviously very dark in the start of the season,” he said, and he’s right. He recorded six hits that month in 22 games, and his season on-base-plus-slugging percentage rested at a lowly .498.

There was really only one way to go from there: up. And O’Neill has.

Entering Wednesday, 12 Orioles players had made at least 100 plate appearances since June. O’Neill’s numbers were the third best in that span. His production is even better in the smaller sample of July onward. Ten Orioles players had received 60 or more plate appearances from July to Wednesday.

None was better than O’Neill.

Entering Wednesday, his OPS since July was a team-best 1.023. His eight home runs helped carry that, but O’Neill also hit for average (.284) and was tied with Coby Mayo for the second-most RBIs (14) in that span.

“What we’re seeing from T.O. is he’s getting into good counts to hit in, and when you’re not chasing, now you’re forcing the pitcher to get in the strike zone,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s easier said than done, and you also have to put a good swing on it and get barrel to it, and that’s what T.O.’s doing. He’s doing a really good job of simplifying what he’s trying to do.”

O’Neill was hesitant to dive into the particulars of his mechanics for this story, likely due to a touch of superstition that is prevalent in most players. But the biggest piece of it is obvious: He is getting his front foot down early, which gives him more time to catch up to a fastball while also maintaining balance to adjust to off-speed offerings.

“I just think I’m landing in a balanced position, which allows my mechanics to work,” O’Neill said. “When I have trust in my mechanics and I can see the ball, I’m not worried about making a move or something.”

O’Neill has been a force before in his major league career. He hit 34 homers in 2021 with the St. Louis Cardinals and 31 in 2024 for the Boston Red Sox. But injuries have been a major part of his story. He was held to 54 games last year and finished with a .684 OPS, the lowest of his career.

Now his average is up to .216 and his OPS is .702 — a significant rebound from earlier depths.

“I knew things were going to turn around eventually,” O’Neill said. “I knew I had a pretty bad May when I came back from the concussion. Things just weren’t going my way. Things just didn’t feel right in the box. But it was a matter of time before getting those reps and getting back into game action for things to turn around.”

With Ward out of the equation, Baltimore has leaned on O’Neill even more of late. He has played all 12 games since the trade deadline passed.

Regular at-bats are a necessary feature for a player to find a rhythm, and O’Neill now has those for two reasons — he’s healthy, and the roster construction opened with the Ward trade. It may be a footnote in a losing season, but O’Neill’s upturn is encouraging, nonetheless.

“There was always that confidence in me and myself, and I think any good player should have confidence in themselves and what they’ve done in the past,” O’Neill said. “I’ve proven myself at the big league level, I know what I’m capable of, and earlier, like I said, it was just a matter of time before I would get an opportunity to go out there and get some consecutive at-bats.”