The New York Yankees won’t be at the World Series themselves.
They’ll have some representation in both dugouts, though — in this case, a few players who were young phenoms in their organization that are now playing in the Fall Classic when the Milwaukee Brewers take on the Tampa Bay Rays.
It’s already been known for a handful of days that Gary Sanchez, who is the Brewers’ backup catcher, will be in the World Series. Milwaukee swept the Dodgers in the NLCS last Thursday.
But the Rays just advanced past the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night, and that means another former Yankees top prospect will be there.
Jorge Mateo never reached the majors before the Yankees traded him, but he was a high-ranking prospect in New York’s system and at one point seemed like he’d be a great speedster in the Bronx.
Now, Mateo is a member of the Rays and will play in the World Series beginning Friday night.
Jorge Mateo With Yankees
The Yankees were Mateo’s first professional organization. They signed him as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic.
Mateo caught the eye of prospect writers very quickly. Before the 2016 season, Baseball American ranked him as the No. 26 prospect in all of baseball.
He was ranked as a top-100 prospect before the 2017 and 2018 seasons as well by all three of Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and Baseball Prospectus.
Mateo actually played in the Futures Game twice, as well. Clearly, there were a lot of folks around baseball who believed in him.
In the Yankees’ system, Mateo got as high as Double-A Trenton, where he hit .300 in 30 games in 2017, but that was his last season with New York’s organization.
How Yankees Lost Jorge Mateo
The Yankees used Mateo in a big trade at the trade deadline in 2017. On July 31, they sent Mateo with Dustin Fowler and James Kaprelian to the Oakland Athletics. In return, the Yankees received Sonny Gray.
That was the beginning of Mateo bouncing around. The A’s eventually traded him to the San Diego Padres, who waived him a year later before he was claimed by the Baltimore Orioles.
Mateo has since signed free agent contracts with the Atlanta Braves and then with the Rays.
In his MLB career, Mateo has played 584 games and is a .219 hitter with 79 doubles, 12 triples and 35 home runs.
He’s a career 125-for-150 stealing bases.
His best season came with the Orioles in 2022 when he played in 150 games, hit 25 doubles, 7 triples and 13 home runs, and stole an AL-leading 35 bases.
This season for the Rays, Mateo got into just 32 games and batted .141, but they’ve kept him around in the playoffs for his versatility and speed. He’s gotten into four playoff games so far despite not having an at bat.
If he makes an impact in the World Series, it might be a brief one.
Ex-Yankees Phenom Going to World Series With Rays