The Braves have released infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment by the club last week. He is now free to sign with any team.
Mateo, 31, signed with Atlanta in January on a one-year deal with a $1MM guarantee. It probably wasn’t a coincidence that the Mateo signing broke one day after the news that Ha-Seong Kim had fallen on some ice and suffered a torn tendon in his right middle finger. He required surgery and was set for a timeline of four to five months, meaning he would be on the injured list well into the season.
It was hoped that Kim would take over as the club’s everyday shortstop but that was no longer going to be possible, at least to start the year. Mateo was brought in to shore up the position alongside Mauricio Dubón.
Mateo has generally been a light-hitting guy whose main contributions are in the speed and defense departments. That was how things played out with Atlanta. He hit .240/.285/.380 for a wRC+ of 80, with all of those numbers being roughly in line with his career marks. He stole ten bases and got solid grades for his shortstop defense while also occasionally chipping in at second base and in left field.
Kim came off the IL in May and Mateo hung around in a bench role. Continued issues in his finger put Kim back on the IL in July. During that second IL stint, Jim Jarvis seemingly leapfrogged Mateo on the depth chart. Jarvis got more playing time than Mateo throughout July. When Kim returned from the IL last week, Mateo got bumped off the roster.
Once he was designated for assignment, a release was the most likely outcome for Mateo. He was designated for assignment after the deadline, so a trade wasn’t possible. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment while also keeping his salary obligations in place. Atlanta skipped that formality and simply released him.
The club remains on the hook for the remainder of his salary. Another team could sign him and would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what Atlanta pays. As mentioned, Mateo has generally been a light hitter throughout his career but has wheels and also has experience at every position on the diamond except for first base and catcher, so he’s a fine bench player.
Photo courtesy of Joe Puetz, Imagn Images
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