Jorge

Mateo

Mateo gets his first start of the year after coming in as a replacement for Thursday’s opener. The 29-year-old dealt with an elbow injury this spring, but is obviously feeling better. Jackson Holliday slides back to second base, and Ramon Urias will open the contest on the bench.

Mateo is seeing his first action since undergoing Tommy John surgery. While Orioles manager Brandon Hyde had previously ruled out the 29-year-old infielder for Opening Day, it’s clear that Mateo is making good progress. His availability in the first week of the regular season will depend on how much he can play over the rest of spring training. Either way, Mateo seems to have progressed enough that he’ll debut in April at the latest.

Mateo had done a “full slate” of defensive drills on Monday and progressed to batting practice on the field on Tuesday. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Mateo was “progressing extremely well,” and Mateo is still holding out hope that he can be ready for Opening Day. He will need to get in spring training games soon if there is any hope of that happening.

A few weeks ago, the Orioles reported that Mateo would be limited in camp, but there had been hope he would be ready to start the season. That no longer appears to be the case. With Mateo likely starting the year on the IL, that will give Ramon Laureano and Ramon Urias an even better chance to win bench spots out of spring training.

Mateo is doubtful for the start of next season as he continues to recover from UCL surgery on his non-throwing elbow. The versatile 29-year-old figures to split time at several infield spots next year behind starters Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Jackson Holliday.

Elias previously stated last month that Mateo would be ready for the outset of spring training following UCL surgery on his non-throwing elbow. However, there’s been no implication that the speedster is dealing with any sort of setback. Barring an unexpected development, fantasy managers should anticipate Mateo being ready for Opening Day. He’s slated to occupy a versatile utility role for Baltimore next season.

This was a procedural move as each player had to be activated from the injured list today and placed on the 40-man roster. Bautista, Mateo, and Wells should be full-go for the start of the season with Bautista again being the closer for the Orioles, which could make him a great value in fantasy leagues.

The Orioles had announced over the weekend that Mateo might require surgery and now he’s officially out for the remainder of the 2024 season. The Orioles did not announce any sort of timeline for his recovery, but it’s possible that he could be ready to go by the time spring training rolls around in March.

Mateo told reporters surgery hasn’t been ruled out yet as he still needs more range of motion and for inflammation to dissipate before he’s cleared to resume any baseball activities. There was hope a couple weeks ago that he could make it back before the regular season wraps up, but that’s looking more challenging in the wake of this latest update.

Mateo partially dislocated his left elbow last week and is going to be on the shelf until the very late stages of the regular season. The positive news here for the Orioles is that his season isn’t over and he could potentially return for the playoffs, if they get there. His extended absence creates an opportunity for Jackson Holliday at the keystone after Connor Norby was shipped to the Marlins at the trade deadline.