Baltimore Orioles Acquire Young Infielder in Minor Deal with Detroit Tigers
After being designated for assignment by the Detroit Tigers, infielder Nick Maton has been traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
The O's announced the trade on Wednesday night:
We have acquired INF/OF Nick Maton from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for cash considerations. Welcome to Birdland, Nick!
The 26-year-old has spent parts of three years in the big leagues with the Phillies and Tigers. He's played in 179 career games, including a career-high 93 in 2023. Lifetime, he's a .208 hitter with 15 home runs.
There's no guarantee that he'll make the Opening Day roster for the Orioles, who are loaded with talent, but he could stick in the organization as a depth piece potentially.
Other Orioles' infielders on the 40-man roster include: Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle, Ramon Urias, Tyler Nevin, Jorge Mateo and Ryan O'Hearn.
Nevin was also acquired in a deal with the Tigers this offseason.
The Orioles are coming off a season in which they went 101-61 and won the American League East. Unfortunately, they were beaten in the American League Division Series by the eventual World Champion Texas Rangers, but they'll enter 2024 with sky-high expectations.
Because of those expectations, the O's aren't in the business of giving playing time to people who can't contribute, so Maton will have to prove himself from the outset in spring training.
There appears to be a real chance that Holliday could make the roster at 20 years old, so there's an even steeper climb for Maton at this point.
As for the Tigers, they have Javier Baez, Andy Ibanez, Colt Keith, Ryan Kreidler, Eddys Leonard, Andre Lipcius, Wenceel Perez and Spencer Torkelson as 40-man roster infield options.
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