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Players who begin to choose not to participate in the MLB 2020 season
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For the first time since March 26, there was an exchange at Major League Baseball. The Padres have acquired minor league sprinter Jorge Mateo from the Athletics for a player to be named later, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
In a post about players with no options in March, our RJ Anderson said the following regarding Mateo:
Mateo has speed and makeup issues, but hit .289 / .330 / .504 in Triple-A last season. Impressive … except Mateo’s team as a whole hit .298 / .371 / .531.
With Mateo out of options and unlikely to have an impact on the major league team, there was little reason for the Athletics to stick with it.
Mateo, 25, has seen time at second base, center field and shortstop in the minors, with the overwhelming majority of time spent at the window. Obviously, the Padres have prodigy Fernando Tatis in a nutshell, but Mateo is not being acquired for a long playing time.
The best bet here is that you are a potential emerging broker. In this short season, each individual game is more important, and late entry closed games may require pinch runners to try and make things happen. It will especially matter in extra innings with a runner starting at second base. Mateo can fly, and in 702 minor league career games, he has stolen 283 bases in 361 attempts.
Otherwise, Mateo is behind Tatis in a nutshell, Jurickson Profar second, and Greg Garcia is San Diego’s public service backer.
The biggest news here is that the teams are swapping again. Expect a few more low-level moves in the coming days as the teams begin training for the 60-game season. Also noteworthy: free agent outfielder Yasiel Puig remains on the market.
