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ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles won’t have Jorge Mateo on their roster for an extended stretch and could be without him for the remainder of the season.
Mateo suffered a “moderate” hamstring strain Sunday with Triple-A Norfolk, according to interim manager Tony Mansolino, and is projected to miss eight-to-12 weeks.
The past two summers have brought terrible health news to Mateo, who underwent reconstructive left elbow surgery in 2024 and didn’t play after July 23. Mateo went on the injured list this year retroactive to June 7 with left elbow inflammation resulting from an outfield collision with Heston Kjerstad.
Mateo strained his hamstring while running to first base during his rehab assignment. He was 6-for-13 with a home run for the Tides, and the Orioles held hopes of adding his speed and defensive versatility before the break.
The bat never heated up for Mateo, who slashed .180/.231/.279 in 32 games. The projected length of his absence matches the one given to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Mountcastle’s IL stint was retroactive to May 31.
Mateo could require at least two months recovery time and a hitting progression that eventually gets him back with an affiliate. The last regular season game is Sept. 28 in New York.
“Probably, I hate to say similar to Mounty’s, but the timeframe is eight-to-12 weeks most likely, so it’s a pretty good one,” Mansolino said.
The injured list grew to 13 players today with backup catcher Chadwick Tromp, who strained his lower back last night. Adley Rutschman (oblique) and Maverick Handley (concussion) also are on the IL. Jacob Stallings, whose contract was selected today from Norfolk, is the fifth Orioles catcher this season, and that list doesn’t include David Bañuelos, who’s spent considerable time with the club on the taxi squad.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen three catchers in nine days,” Stallings said. “When I made my debut in 2016, I think I was the sixth catcher that the Pirates used that year, so that’s the only thing I’ve seen close to this. Obviously, I wish I was here under different circumstances.”
The Orioles signed Stallings, a Gold Glove winner with the Pirates in 2021, on June 24 to provide depth at the position while injuries mounted.
“It’s crazy,” Mansolino said. “I mean, you guys have been covering this game a long time and I can’t imagine you’ve seen anything like this. I think we’re on our fourth or fifth catcher in the major leagues. Highly unusual. I think we’re all kind of perplexed. I don’t think there’s an answer. I think the more we search for answers, the more problems start to arise, so we’re just gonna probably stop talking about it.
“To be able to go out and sign Jacob and get a ’21 Gold Glover, a guy that swung the bat really good last year in Colorado, and have him sitting in Triple-A, just kind of a credit to our pro scouting staff and the organization for making sure that he’s here.”
“I was just at home,” Stallings said, “and when Adley went down we kind of got in contact with the Orioles. I think it was the next day that Handley got in that collision with Jazz (Chisholm). Things happened pretty quickly after that. I was just home and I guess you could say there was mutual interest once there were some injuries here.”
Stallings’ father, Kevin, was the head men’s basketball coach at Vanderbilt while Mansolino played baseball for the Commodores.
“When Jacob was a kid, he used to be kind of a ball boy at practice at times for coach (Tim) Corbin over there when I was a player,” Mansolino said. “He’d sit on a bucket catching balls for us. I kind of got to watch him grow in the game.”
“Once we both got into pro ball, we kept in touch and see each other every now and then in the offseason,” said Stallings, who was teammates with Charlie Morton in Pittsburgh.
The Orioles don’t have a timeline on Tromp’s return. He struggled to throw the ball back to the mound last night and Mansolino had no choice except to remove him.
“Out of respect to him and kind of his battle to get back into the big leagues and stay in the big leagues, we were kind of going to let him go to the point where we just kind of pulled the plug and said enough is enough,” Mansolino said.
Tromp is the 23rd player to go on the IL.
“I try not to think about it too much, about the problem. It’s constantly trying to figure out what’s next, what the solution is,” Mansolino said.
“I go back to my experience managing in Triple-A. These last 10, 11 days, it feels like I’m in Triple-A where you have a transaction every day.”
Jordan Westburg is out of the lineup for the fourth straight game with a sore left index finger.
“I think it’s pretty likely he will be available tonight coming off the bench,” Mansolino said. “I think if it’s September, and I said this before, we’re chasing the pennant right now at the end of the year, I’m probably going to throw him out there. I’ve got to kind of wrestle with myself as to, when’s the right time to pop him. If he says he’s available, and in my mind as a coach, the golden rule is, when they say they’re good, give them one more day, you’ve got to kind of figure out the right spot to use him and when to get him going. Because if you do it too soon, who knows what could happen?
“I think we kind of saw that a little bit with the slide into second base.”
Outfielder Tyler O’Neill reported to Norfolk to continue his rehab assignment.
Grayson Rodriguez threw in the bullpen today.
For the Rangers
Josh Smith 1B
Corey Seager SS
Marcus Semien 2B
Adolis García RF
Alejandro Osuna LF
Jonah Heim C
Billy McKinney DH
Ezequiel Duran 3B
Sam Haggerty CF
Jacob deGrom RHP
