ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays signed infielder Jorge Mateo to a major league contract and recalled right-handed pitcher Jesse Scholtens from Triple-A Durham.
To clear spots on both the active and 40-man rosters, the team optioned right-handed pitcher Michael Grove and infielder Carson Williams to Durham. Tampa Bay also designated right-handed pitcher Trevor Martin for assignment. Mateo will wear No. 9 with the club.
Mateo, 31, played in 65 games for the Atlanta Braves earlier this season. He posted a .240/.285/.380 slash line with six doubles, four home runs, 11 RBIs, eight walks, 29 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts over 129 at-bats.
Through the end of May, the right-handed hitter batted .316 (25-for-79) with eight extra-base hits and 11 RBIs over his first 37 games. He wrapped up that stretch with RBIs in four consecutive games from May 28-31, including back-to-back games with a home run on May 30-31 against the Cincinnati Reds.
According to Baseball Savant, Mateo leads all major league infielders with an average sprint speed of 30.3 feet per second, which ranks third overall in MLB behind Henry Bolte of the Athletics (30.6) and Cam Cauley of the Texas Rangers (30.5). His average throwing arm strength of 88.3 mph ranks ninth among major league shortstops.
Defensively, the 6-foot, 200-pound infielder has recorded 16 defensive runs saved since the start of the 2022 season, tying him for 11th among MLB shortstops despite logging fewer innings at the position than all 10 players ranked ahead of him during that timeframe.
Mateo has logged 18 career games at Tropicana Field, batting .350 (21-for-60) with eight doubles, one triple, five RBIs, four walks, nine runs scored, and a .907 OPS. That .350 mark is the highest career batting average at the ballpark among active players with a minimum of 50 at-bats.
A native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Mateo originally signed with the Braves on Jan. 20 before being designated for assignment on Aug. 3 and released on Aug. 9. Prior to his time in Atlanta, he played five seasons for the Baltimore Orioles from 2021 to 2025 following a trade from the San Diego Padres. In 2022, Mateo led the American League with a career-high 35 stolen bases, joining Brian Roberts (2007) and Luis Aparicio (1963-64) as the only Orioles players to accomplish the feat. He made his major league debut with San Diego in 2020, playing 22 games.
Across seven major league seasons from 2020 through 2026, Mateo has played in 555 career games, batting .223/.268/.365 with 77 doubles, 12 triples, 34 home runs, 132 RBIs, 81 walks, 212 runs scored, and 116 stolen bases in 1,432 at-bats.
READ: Rays Trade Three Prospects To Mets For Two-Time All-Star Pitcher Freddy Peralta
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