Jorge Luis Mateo (born June 23, 1995) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020 for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Career

New York Yankees

Mateo signed with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

as an international free agent in January 2012, receiving a $250,000 signing bonus. He made his professional debut that season for the Dominican Summer League Yankees 2 and batted .255 with one home run and eight RBIs in 14 games. He played for the

Dominican Summer League Yankees 1 The Dominican Summer Yankees are a minor league baseball team in the Dominican Summer League. The team plays in the Boca Chica South division and is affiliated with the New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional ba ...

in 2013, compiling a .287 batting average with seven home runs and 26 RBIs in 64 games, and the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseba ...

in 2014, slashing .276/.354/.397 in 15 games. In 2015, while playing for the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

and the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

, Mateo posted a combined .278 batting average with two home runs, 11 triples, 40 RBIs, and 82 stolen bases in 117 total games between both clubs. Mateo was ranked by '' Baseball America'' as the top Yankees minor league prospect ahead of Gary Sánchez and

Aaron Judge Aaron James Judge (born April 26, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Judge was unanimously selected as the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year in 2017, and finishe ...

prior to the 2016 campaign. He also received a non-roster invitation to spring training. He spent the season back with Tampa, and was named to appear in the All-Star Futures Game. However, on July 6, 2016, Mateo was suspended for two weeks due to violating the team's code of conduct policy, and could not participate in the Futures Game. Mateo finished 2016 with a .254 batting average, eight home runs, 36 stolen bases, and 47 RBIs. The Yankees added him to their 40-man roster after the season. He began 2017 with Tampa and was promoted to the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

in late June.

Oakland Athletics

On July 31, 2017, the Yankees traded Mateo, along with Dustin Fowler and

James Kaprielian James Douglas Kaprielian (; born March 2, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he played college baseball ...

to the Oakland Athletics, in exchange for

Sonny Gray Sonny Douglas Gray (born November 7, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, and Cincinnati Reds. Gray attended ...

. Oakland assigned him to the

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, w ...

and he finished the season there. In 129 total games between Tampa, Trenton and Midland, he batted .267 in 532 at bats with 12 home runs, 18 triples, 57 RBIs, and 52 stolen bases. In April 2018, ''Baseball America'' named Mateo as having the best speed of all minor league players, ahead of Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn. That season, playing for the AAA Nashville Sounds he hit .230/.280/.353 in 470 at bats with 3 home runs, 16 triples, 45 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases while being caught 10 times. Mateo opened the 2019 season with the

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada ...

. Mateo was named to the 2019 All-Star Futures Game. In 2019 he led the minor league in triples, with 14.

San Diego Padres

On June 30, 2020, the Athletics traded Mateo to the

in exchange for Junior Perez. He was activated and started his first career game as the left fielder on August 13. On August 27, in the second game of a doubleheaders against the Seattle Mariners, Mateo recorded his first MLB hit on a ground rule double. He hit his first major league home run on April 29, 2021, against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

. On August 3, 2021, Mateo was designated for assignment by the Padres.

Baltimore Orioles

On August 5, 2021, Mateo was claimed off of waivers by the

. In 2021, he batted .247/.293/.376 with 4 home runs, 14 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 89 games between the Padres and Orioles. In the 2022 season, Mateo started on the Orioles opening day roster at shortstop and finished the season batting .221/.267/.379 with 13 home runs, 50 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases in 494 at-bats. He led the major leagues with the most stolen bases in the regular season of 2022, trailed by teammate

Cedric Mullins Boyce Cedric Mullins II (born October 1, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2018. Professional career Early career Mullins attended Brookwood ...

by one. Mateo won the Fielding Bible Award as the best defensive shortstop in MLB for the 2022 season, making him the first Oriole to win the award at that position. On January 13, 2023, Mateo agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Orioles, avoiding salary arbitration.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mateo, Jorge 1995 births Living people American League stolen base champions Baltimore Orioles players Charleston RiverDogs players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Dominican Summer League Yankees players Gulf Coast Yankees players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Midland RockHounds players San Diego Padres players Tampa Yankees players Toros del Este players Trenton Thunder players Nashville Sounds players Las Vegas Aviators players Sportspeople from Santo Domingo