Full Name: Marcos Aurelio Mateo Lora
Name (Japanese): マルコス・マテオ
Date of Birth: April 18, 1984
Hometown: Sabana Grande de Palenque, Dominican Republic
Family Status: Married, 3 sons, 3 daughters
Height: 188 cm (6’2″)
Weight: 107 kg (236 lb)
Throws/Bats: Right/Right
Wore #: 38
Walk-Up Song: Omega El Fuerte – Ya Yo Mangue To
Originally drafted by: Undrafted (signed with Cincinnati Reds as amateur free agent, 2005)
Joined the Tigers’ roster in: 2016
Release Announced on: October 31, 2018
Career Awards/Achievements: All-Star Team (2017); CL Outstanding Middle Reliever (2017)
Career Stats:
| Yr | Team | ERA | GP | GS | CG | SO | No BB | GC | W | L | HLD | HP | SV | W% | IP | BF | H | HR | K | K/9 | BB | HBP | WP | BK | R | ER | AVG vs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Tigers | 1.80 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 20 | .250 | 55.0 | 226 | 40 | 2 | 56 | 9.16 | 24 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 11 | .205 |
| 2017 | Tigers | 2.75 | 63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 36 | 43 | 0 | .636 | 59.0 | 252 | 49 | 2 | 62 | 9.46 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 18 | .217 |
| 2018 | Tigers | 6.75 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 14.2 | 73 | 19 | 2 | 13 | 7.98 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 11 | .317 |
| Career | 2.80 | 132 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 8 | 8 | 47 | 55 | 20 | .500 | 128.2 | 551 | 108 | 6 | 131 | 9.16 | 52 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 49 | 40 | .225 |
Brief Biography:
Marcos Mateo was first signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 2005. After two seasons of Rookie League, He moved up to Class A ball (Daytona Dragons) in 2007 before being traded to the Chicago Cubs near season’s end. A relatively successful 2008 season with the Peoria Chiefs earned Mateo a spot on the Cubs’ 40-man roster at the end of the year. After spending 2009 in AA, he spent 2010 in various leagues due to a mixture of good and poor pitching along with injury. Finally on August 9, he got his first call up to the majors. Making his debut that day, he took the loss after giving up a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 11th. He would pitch in 21 games that season, though his overall numbers were not very strong.
Mateo’s 2011 season saw him bouncing between the majors and AAA before injuring his elbow in July, ending his year. Though he pitched that winter in the Dominican Republic, he was unable to pitch in 2012, electing to get Tommy John surgery in June. His comeback in 2013 fell short, and although he got picked by the Diamondbacks in the Rule 5 Draft in December, he was back with the Cubs in 2014, though he never made it back up to the majors with them and was DFA’ed in November. Mateo signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres for the 2015 season, and ultimately was given a major league deal midseason. In 26 games in the bigs, Mateo recorded a win, a loss and a hold with a 4.00 ERA.
That offseason, Mateo signed a one-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers for the 2016 campaign. The intention was for him to take over the closer’s role from Seung-hwan Oh, who was seeking a contract with a major league team. Along with Mateo, the Tigers also signed Rafael Dolis. The two Dominican relievers arrived in Japan in late January with then-slugger Mauro Gomez helping them get accustomed to their new surroundings. Mateo started the season as the team’s closer, while Dolis was kept on the farm for emergency use. Though Mateo started the season strongly, recording 10 saves early on, he suffered through a stretch of giving up runs in five straight games before being deactivated due to apparent shoulder discomfort. Dolis took over as closer in his absence, though injury also landed him on the shelf in late July. Despite shaky stretches during the earlier part of the season, Mateo had established himself as a valuable piece in the bullpen, and was tendered a contract offer to return to the team in 2017.
The Tigers also brought Dolis back for 2017, though only after a February tryout to ensure his elbow would hold out after offseason surgery. Dolis impressed enough to earn the closer’s role, which meant Mateo would be relegated to the set-up role. Right around that time, Mateo had to leave Japan during spring training for undisclosed family reasons. He returned soon thereafter, and got right down to business. Thanks to a hot start for the Tigers and Mateo personally, he was voted onto the Central League all-star team. Unfortunately for Mateo, he would end up as the losing pitcher in Game 1 of the midseason classic, giving up a 3-run home run in the top of the 8th inning. Still, the story of the season for the Tigers in 2017 was its dominant bullpen, of which Mateo was a key ingredient. Along with Kentaro Kuwahara, Mateo helped connect starter and closer, winning seven games and holding leads in 36 others. He and Kuwahara would tie for most hold points, and were co-winners of the Outstanding Middle Reliever Award. Naturally, the Tigers brought Mateo back for 2018.
For the second straight year, Mateo had to head back to his home country. At the end of April so he could be by his wife’s side in the Dominican Republic for the birth of their sixth child. Soon after his return to Japan, he became the 17th pitcher in NPB history to walk home three consecutive batters (@ Carp, May 12). Two weeks later, he found himself on the disabled list with elbow problems. Though he pitched on the farm and even made it back up to the top squad for a spell, he was unable to find his stuff, as he gave up four runs in 2 1/3 innings before the all-star break. From then on, he stayed on the farm, and the team elected to place him on waivers at season’s end. When no other club made him an offer, he was outright released on October 31.
Related Articles:
Mateo Interview: Walks Have Affected My Game (June 22, 2018)
Mateo Heads Home for Emergency, Return Unknown (February 8, 2017)
Mateo, Mendez Arrive in Japan (January 28, 2017)
Imports Messenger, Mateo Sign 2017 Contracts (November 29, 2016)
Mateo Officially Joins Tigers (January 9, 2016)
Tigers Reach Agreement with Mateo (December 15, 2015)