Orioles infielder Jorge Mateo underwent elbow surgery Wednesday, the team announced, and will miss the rest of the season.
The 29-year-old had Tommy John elbow reconstruction with an internal brace and flexor repair to fix the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Dr. Keith Meister performed the surgery at Trinity Park Surgery Center in Arlington, Texas.
“Everything went really well,” manager Brandon Hyde said of the procedure, which was performed on the elbow of his nonthrowing arm. “Hopefully, he’s back by the regular season next year but we’re happy the surgery went well.”
Mateo suffered a transient dislocation in his elbow after colliding with shortstop Gunnar Henderson on July 23 during a game against the Marlins in Miami. The two infielders ran into each other trying to field a ground ball up the middle and Mateo’s arm got caught awkwardly between Henderson’s leg and the ground.
It’s a disappointing end to the campaign for Mateo, who hit .229 with five home runs and 13 stolen bases in 68 games. He also missed time this year with a concussion he sustained after being hit in the head by Cedric Mullins’ bat while standing in the on-deck circle. Between his speed and defensive flexibility, the Orioles won’t replace Mateo with one player. Jackson Holliday has gotten an extended look at second base since he went down, but they’ve acquired Livan Soto and Emmanuel Rivera to fill out their bench in his absence.
The Orioles have been hit hard by injuries this season as Mateo joins pitchers Kyle Bradish, John Means, Tyler Wells and Félix Bautista on the list of players ruled out for the rest of the year with elbow injuries.
“We have to stay positive,” right fielder Anthony Santander said. “This is something that’s out of our hands and this team, somebody will step up and they’ll do a really good job. We just have to continue to come here and play. This team is going to be amazing next year when everybody is healthy.”
While Mateo won’t be back in 2024, the Orioles do hope to get several reinforcements from the injured list for the September stretch run. Third baseman Jordan Westburg, first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, starters Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin as well as relievers Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb are all targeting returns before the end of the regular season.
