The White Sox may have already made their deadline moves, but they still might not be finished looking for help.
After a relatively modest run at the trade deadline, Chicago added starter Luis Castillo, reliever Huascar Brazobán, outfielder Brenton Doyle, and catcher Joey Bart. Those pickups added depth, but none of them arrives with the kind of instant impact label fans were probably hoping for. Bart, in fact, has already landed on the injury list.
That’s why another veteran name on the radar makes some sense. According to MLB reporter Francys Romero, the White Sox are among the teams interested in Jorge Mateo after the Atlanta Braves released the utility man. Tampa Bay is also said to be in the mix.
Mateo, 31, spent this season with Atlanta and appeared in 67 games, hitting .240/.285/.380. The Braves mostly used him at shortstop, though he also logged time at second base and as a designated hitter.
The appeal with Mateo goes beyond one spot on the diamond. Over the course of his career, he has played all over the field. Middle infield is his home base, but he has also seen action at every outfield position, with the most experience in center.
That kind of flexibility matters for a White Sox team that has already cycled through plenty of outfield options this year. Chicago recently moved on from Everson Pereira and Austin Hays, and Tristan Peters has had his own consistency issues. That context helps explain the earlier move for Brenton Doyle, and Mateo would give the club even more insurance if injuries hit in the infield.
There’s also some overlap here with Luisangel Acuña. If Chicago is looking at Mateo, it raises the question of whether the team sees him as the better down-the-stretch option. Mateo brings more MLB experience and a broader defensive track record.
He’s been in the majors since 2020, when the Padres first called him up. San Diego later traded him to Baltimore, where he stayed until joining Atlanta this year.
In 408 games with the Orioles, Mateo became a regular starter in both 2022 and 2023. He finished second in the majors with 35 stolen bases in 2022, then helped Baltimore get back to the postseason in 2023.
With Acuña already in the organization and apparently a meaningful piece of the Luis Robert Jr. trade, the White Sox are unlikely to completely give up on him. But they also have the playoffs to think about for the first time in years.
A player like Mateo doesn’t often hit the market at this stage of the season, which is part of what makes him interesting for a young team trying to cover ground quickly. The fact that Tampa Bay is reportedly after him too only reinforces that point.
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