The 27-year-old, coming off a dreadful year for the Tigers, gives the Orioles some infield depth at Triple-A.
How he got here: Acquired from the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations 2/7/24
Each year around this time, Camden Chat takes a closer look at the new players added to the Orioles’ 40-man roster during this offseason. This winter, for the first time in years, the O’s didn’t promote any of their internal prospects to the 40-man, which left them with some wiggle room to add players from outside the organization.
They’ve certainly taken advantage of that roster flexibility, with seven newcomers joining the roster (not including the reacquisition of Tyler Nevin, who previously played for the Orioles from 2021-22). The roster shuffling has come so fast and furious that the O’s already added and then dropped two other guys, infielders Liván Soto and Diego Castillo, before they’d even reported to the team.
We’ll start our series with one new infielder who has held on to his roster spot so far: Nick Maton.
Maton, who turned 27 earlier this week, was a seventh-round pick by the Phillies in 2017. The Illinois native had stayed close to home for his college career, playing one year at Eastern Illinois before transferring to Lincoln Land Community College elsewhere in the state. Maton climbed his way up the Phillies’ system, rating as the club’s #19 prospect in 2021, when he made his major league debut. After parts of two years in the majors with the Phillies, the infielder was sent to the Tigers in a trade package for reliever Gregory Soto.
Last year he got his first real shot at regular playing time, manning third base for the Tigers, and to say it did not go well would be an understatement. After nearly half the season had passed, Maton was, well, literally the worst hitter in baseball. Among qualified hitters, his .163 batting average through 72 games was 18 points worse than the next-lowest hitter. His .287 SLG placed him in last place in that category as well. And his 64 wRC+ (weighted Runs Created plus) tied his own teammate, Javier Baez, for the worst in MLB. Maton’s numbers were Chris Davis-like, and I don’t mean the good version of Chris Davis.
For what it’s worth, Maton didn’t finish the season as baseball’s worst hitter…but only because he didn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the “leaderboards.” The Tigers optioned him to the minors on June 25, and though he later returned for another month — in which he posted an ominous .666 OPS — he finished the season with a .173/.288/.305 line, with eight homers in 93 games. Detroit designated him for assignment Feb. 5, and the O’s acquired him in a cash deal two days later.
So what is Maton’s role on the Orioles? Probably none, barring a series of injuries to the already loaded O’s infield. The Birds do, though, have some infield openings at Triple-A Norfolk, especially after Joey Ortiz’s trade to Milwaukee and Jackson Holliday’s likely ascent to the majors by Opening Day or shortly after. Maton is a veteran presence to plug into the Tides’ lineup. He’s out of options, which means the O’s would have to put him back on waivers to send him to the minors. He’s likely to clear, but if another team claims him, so be it.
In the event Maton ends up on the Orioles’ roster at some point, there are a couple of reasons the O’s may be hoping for improvement over his 2023 season. For one, he’s surely glad to escape the pitcher-friendly Comerica Park, where Maton batted a brutal .143/.278/.219 in 46 games. Detroit’s home ballpark is where hitters go to die. Maton has at least shown glimpses of offensive potential in the past, including an impressive .855 OPS in 34 games for the Phillies in 2022, an admittedly small sample size.
Maton also provides positional versatility. In his career, he’s started multiple games each at second base, shortstop, third base, and both corner outfield positions. He’s even made three pitching appearances. Advanced stats indicate that Maton is not particularly good at any of those positions — he has a negative career Defensive Runs Saved at every infield spot — but I feel like I’ve ragged on this guy enough already, so let’s move on.
If Maton does see any time with the Orioles this year, he has a chance for a cool family moment. His older brother, Phil, is a seven-year veteran reliever who signed with Tampa Bay this winter. The Birds play 12 games against the division rival Rays this season, so perhaps the stars would align for a Maton-Maton mano a mano. Nick has faced his brother just once in the big leagues, when his Phillies visited the Astros, Phil’s team at the time, on the last day of the 2022 season. Nick emerged victorious with a single.
Maton could end up being this year’s version of Josh Lester, who spent the majority of the 2023 season as a mainstay in the Norfolk lineup and earned an unremarkable 11-game call-up to the bigs. It never hurts to have a veteran role player just a phone call away from the majors in case of emergency. And perhaps the Orioles’ player development folks can unlock something in Maton that the Tigers couldn’t.
Either that, or he could be gone from the organization before the season even begins. Such is life for a player on the fringes of a 40-man roster.
Tomorrow: Craig Kimbrel