Baltimore Orioles Utilityman 'Honorable Mention' as Top 25 Second Baseman

The Baltimore Orioles made it to the postseason for the second time in as many years, but their role players may need to be upgraded.

Jul 14, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles second base Jorge Mateo (3) leads off of first base during the fourth inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images / James A. Pittman-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles have climbed out of their rebuild with a vengeance, making the postseason twice in as many year, though they have failed to make it out of their first-round contests in both trips.

They have done it on the strength of developing strong positional player talent, with Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson being two of their best players and household names across Major League Baseball.

Like most teams, the Orioles do still employ a number of role players to bolster the holes in their roster.

One of those is Jorge Mateo, who was listed as an honorable mention in Joel Reuter's last second base power ranking of 2024 for Bleacher Report.

Mateo, 29, spent time at three different positions for Baltimore this year, including shortstop, and center field, though the majority of his time came at the second.

Overall, he batted .229/.267/.401 on the year with five home runs, 18 RBI, and a 93 OPS+ across 208 plate appearances in 68 games.

In games that he served as the second baseman, Mateo batted .243/.284/.414 with four home runs, 15 RBI, and a 102 OPS+, easily making it his best production at any of the positions that he played this season.

While second base served as the veteran's best position offensively, it was his worst on the defensive side of the ball.

Per Baseball Savant, Mateo tallied -1 Outs Above Average at second base, while tallying a positive one at shortstop and an even zero in center field.

His -1 Outs Above Average at second base ranks him as the 23rd second baseman in Major League Baseball by that metric, with only 14 other players ranked lower.

Mateo is a prime example of one of the Orioles' key issues that they will face moving forward if Jackson Holliday continues to struggle at the Major League level and they do not add any bats in free agency.

The role players on the team are far worse than many of the other contending team's role players, and it drags down the overall production of the offense, and Baltimore does not have the pitching depth necessary to make up for it.

While Mateo should not be moved off of completely, he would be much better suited serving as a bench player, whose prime role is as a defensive replacement at one of the positions where he is a better defender.