Baltimore Orioles' Jorge Mateo Leaves Game After Freak Injury in On-Deck Circle

Cedric Mullins accidentally hit his teammate, Jorge Mateo, in the head with his bat during the Baltimore Orioles' showdown with the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday.

May 27, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jorge Mateo (center) greeted by manager Brandon Hyde (right) after scoring in the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

The bottom of the fourth inning hadn't even started yet, and the Baltimore Orioles still fell victim to some brutal injury luck.

Center fielder Cedric Mullins and second baseman Jorge Mateo were both warming up, sharing the on-deck circle prior to the bottom half of the frame. Mullins, looking out into the field, lifted his bat up behind his back and dropped it back down.

Just then, Mateo was bending over to get an extra weight to put on his bat. Mullins' bat hit Mateo in the back of the helmet, and the infielder immediately keeled over in pain.

Ramón Urías wound up pinch-hitting for Mateo, who was removed from the game.

Here’s what happened to Mateo… pic.twitter.com/AJu65r9EWK

— Jason Benowitz (@jbenowitz1831) June 2, 2024

Mateo was 1-for-1 before getting his bell rung. He is now batting .246 with three home runs, 13 RBI, 10 stolen bases, a .741 OPS and 1.4 WAR through 42 games this season.

The 28-year-old has primarily played second base in 2024 after serving as the Orioles' starting shortstop for most of 2022 and 2023. Since arriving in Baltimore at the 2021 trade deadline via the San Diego Padres, Mateo is a .228 hitter with 25 home runs, 105 RBI, 82 stolen bases, a .654 OPS and a 6.0 WAR.

Mateo went 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI in the ALDS against the Texas Rangers last fall, although he only started in once in the three-game series.

It remains to be seen if Mateo will miss any additional time with this head injury, or if he will need to hit the 7-day concussion list. The Orioles have Urías on the bench to take over in the meantime, as well as top prospect Jackson Holliday biding his time in Triple-A.

Jordan Westburg can also play both second and third base.

The Orioles are heading north of the border for a four-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays starting Monday. The series opener is set to get underway at 7:07 p.m. ET, giving Baltimore a little over 24 hours to sort out Mateo's status.

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