More on Mateo in 2025

Without notes in front of him or knowledge of which questions he’d field Friday afternoon during his 27-minute video call with the local media, Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias performed a mental checklist of rehabbing players and their progress.

Colton Cowser is fine after his October surgery to repair a fractured left hand suffered in Game 2 of the Wild Card series. Grayson Rodriguez has recovered from his lat strain and shouldn’t have any restrictions in camp. Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells should return in the second half.

Jorge Mateo can get lost among these names but Elias isn’t forgetting about him.

Mateo’s surgery sounds complicated enough to require a cheat sheet when talking about it. He underwent a Tommy John reconstruction procedure on Aug. 28 with an internal brace and flexor repair to fix the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Dr. Keith Meister, on speed dial, performed it at Trinity Park Surgery Center in Arlington, Texas.

The injury was weird in nature. Mateo suffered a transient dislocation in the elbow after colliding with shortstop Gunnar Henderson during a July 23 game against the Marlins in Miami. A ground ball hit up the middle led to Mateo’s arm getting pinned between Henderson’s leg and the ground.

You don’t see it happen very often. And the Orioles wouldn’t see Mateo again in their lineup.

Mateo's back on the 40-man roster because players on the injured list must return to it after the World Series. His situation would appear complicated by the $3.2 million he’s projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to make in arbitration, the offensive issues that created a .229/.267/401 line in 68 games, and the infield depth that forms a crowd on a 26-man roster with 13 position players.

Elias twice brought up Mateo’s name during the interview, in reference to healing players and an infield that’s an extreme low among offseason priorities.

“I think he was an underrated absence for us in the second half,” Elias said. “Whether he’s 100 percent full-go on the very, very first day of spring training is still TBD, but suffice to say, he’s going to have a very full, if not a 162, something close to that season. So, he’s really somebody that we’re able to plan around fully, more or less, in 2025 and that hasn’t changed.”

Now, anything can happen between now and Opening Day. However, Mateo appears to be on much firmer ground than I anticipated based on the previously stated factors.

The Orioles are infatuated with Mateo’s elite speed and his defense, and they could work to expand his versatility by giving him more chances in the outfield rather than confining him to the middle infield. Utility player Ramón Urías also is eligible for arbitration, with a $3.1 million salary projection, and he was the team’s hottest hitter before spraining his ankle on Aug. 31. He started the bases-loaded, no-out rally (which ultimately proved fruitless) in Game 2 of the Wild Card series by following Cedric Mullins’ tying home run with a single. He also hit a fly ball that would have been a homer in 27 ballparks but landed in MJ Melendez’s glove.

Carrying Mateo and Urías swells an infield that also has Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O’Hearn and likely Jackson Holliday, barring a brutal showing in camp. The Orioles picked up O’Hearn’s $8 million option. Mountcastle is viewed as a possible trade chip, or at least he was before the organization decided to move up the left field wall, and being a first baseman doesn’t overlap with Mateo.

Emmanuel Rivera and Livan Soto are on the 40-man, though the latter is more vulnerable with Mateo and Urías healthy. The Orioles will try to find a spot for Coby Mayo.

If you carry Mateo, Urías, Henderson, Westburg, Mountcastle, O’Hearn and we’ll say Holliday, along with the prerequisite two catchers, that leaves room for four outfielders. It’s doable with Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins, Heston Kjerstad and a right-handed bat. But again, Mayo ends up on the outside as the organization’s No. 1 prospect.

Rivera is out of minor league options.

Perhaps the decision can be put on hold by placing Mateo on the injured list to begin the season if his spring debut is delayed to where he’s unable to accumulate a sufficient number of at-bats. If he’s in action earlier than that, it’s going to be interesting to learn how the Orioles make it work.

What would you do?