MESA, Ariz. — When the A’s acquired Jorge Mateo in the 2017 Sonny Gray deal they were expecting an explosive five-tool prospect who was knocking on the door of a big league call-up.
That’s not what they got.
Mateo finished off the second half of that 2017 season nicely as he hit .292 over his final 30 games. But when he returned to the club for spring training he immediately was plagued by knee and hamstring issues that kept him out of most games. He did get in some games towards the end, but those injuries lingered on as he entered his regular season at Triple-A.