Orioles infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo won’t be back soon. Interim manager Tony Mansolino relayed to reporters today, including Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, that Mateo has a hamstring strain and will miss 8 to 12 weeks. Mateo is already on the 10-day injured list, due to a different injury, but will be moved to the 60-day version whenever the club needs his roster spot.
Mateo hit the injured list June 10th due to left elbow inflammation. He had recently been on a rehab assignment but departed last night’s game due to the hamstring injury. It now appears that the injury is serious enough to put his season in jeopardy. Given that timeline, it seems he won’t be back until September, even in a best-case scenario.
It’s an unfortunate blow for Mateo and the Orioles. He wasn’t having a great season at the plate even prior to the injuries, with a .180/.231/.279 line in 65 plate appearances. But he was still able to bounce around to multiple positions while stealing bases.
He has been doing that for the Orioles for years, though often with more passable work at the plate. From 2022 to 2024, he slashed .221/.267/.371 for a 78 wRC+. That was still subpar offense but he was able to produce 4.1 wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs, in a span of 334 games thanks to his speed and defense.
The O’s are 37-47 and seven games back of a playoff spot. Getting Mateo back to that pre-2025 form could have been a boost to the club but that won’t happen now. He’s an impending free agent, though with a club option for 2026 on his deal, which would have made him a trade candidate if the club were selling. But that’s off the table now as well. Players on the IL can be traded but Mateo won’t have any value on account of his status, his performance earlier this year, and his $3.55MM salary.
On a personal level, it’s obviously less than ideal for Mateo to go into free agency with this kind of platform. His numbers have been poor so far and it seems he’ll get little time to improve them, maybe even none at all. Despite his tepid offense, the O’s have liked his other contributions enough to continually tender him contracts. He made $2.7MM last year and is making $3.55MM this year. They even negotiated a $5.5MM club option for 2026 into his deal to potentially gain an extra year of club control. But they won’t be picking that up now and he’ll head into free agency on a down note.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images
12 weeks will be close to the end of the season. His time with the Orioles could be over.
His time with the Orioles should have been over before now but I agree, this likely means his time in Baltimore is up.
But he was still able to bounce around to multiple positions and block prospects.
The only skill that benefited the team the past two seasons was his speed and even then it was only when on the bases. He does not belong in any major league outfield and he is not going to supplant anyone that currently holds starting infield spots.
Hopefully Bradfield Jr is the starter in CF next season, which will be speed beyond what Mateo has and could be a nice table starter with better contact skills as well.
Probably keeping Urias.
12 weeks jeez he musta really pulled that thing
Time to cut loose another sub .200 hitter.
you’re charming @grape
He can play numerous positions but defense was awful this year despite so little time…six errors!
His time should have been up after the 2023 season. Didn’t hit in 2024 and even less in 2025, basically a pinch runner. All for 3.55M.
Elias doesn’t want to ever make a mistake on a big contract, but certainly loves making mistakes on a ton of smaller contracts. They all add up!
Mateo is the kind of player that is right up Seattle’s alley. Utility guy who was useful in the past – and might be in the future (who knows?) – coming off an injury marred platform season where he sucked even when he wasn’t injured. Very budget friendly no matter what kind of production he brings. Yeah, future Mariner for sure.
Mariners are now loaded in the infield with all their upcoming prospects. Thanks but no thanks.
Gonna be nobody healthy enough to trade.