TAMPA — When Carlos Beltran was traded to Texas in July, he was asked about the haul of young talent the Yankees received in return for Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman and himself.
He praised the Yankees for the moves but cautioned: “A prospect is a prospect. It doesn’t mean they’re going to become a player.”
For all the excitement surrounding the burgeoning youth movement, there are some potential cautionary tales, like Jorge Mateo’s.
A year ago at this time, Mateo was arguably the Yankees’ top prospect and got off to a fantastic start with Class-A Tampa. But his production slipped in May, and that was followed by a bad June and a two-week suspension for violating team rules in July.
That month also brought the arrival of Gleyber Torres, who came to the Yankees in the Chapman trade with the Cubs.
Suddenly, Mateo wasn’t the organization’s top prospect, and he wasn’t even playing shortstop anymore, having been bumped by Torres.
Despite Mateo’s rotten latter part of the season and his ensuing free fall in some prospect rankings, the Yankees still have hope he is going to reach his potential.
Patrick Osborn, who managed both Mateo and Torres in Tampa last season and will manage Class-A Charleston in 2017, said he thinks the expectations placed on Mateo before his rough year may have played a role in his prolonged slump.
“You could definitely say that,” Osborn said by phone. “Any time you start hearing about how good you’re going to be, you can start trying to do too much. All of a sudden, he started to struggle and couldn’t rebound.”
Mateo hit .374 in his first 27 games and just .218 the rest of the year. With Torres at shortstop, he played second base and some center field. Already this spring, Mateo also has worked at third base, and like Torres, Mateo is expected to begin this season with Double-A Trenton.
“He just has to play the game relaxed,” Osborn said. “He’s going to be full speed ahead this spring with a chip on his shoulder to get back to where he should be.”
Mateo still is only 22, and Torres just turned 20 in December. Based on last year, their careers could be on different trajectories — or Mateo simply may have had a rough season.
“He had a ton of expectations on him, and they’re warranted,” Osborn said. “He’s so talented, but he’s not immune to struggling. This was the first time he faced adversity, and I think he grew up. If he does everything he’s capable of doing, the rest is history.”
Torres’ presence might help.
“The influx of new young talent diverts attention from Jorge,” Osborn said. “I expect him to be great. Maybe not having all the spotlight on him will be a good thing.”
Torres will be a part of that, especially after tearing up the Arizona Fall League.
“He’s just different in both his ability and the way he carries himself,” Osborn said. “With his baseball IQ and the way he goes about his business, I don’t see anything fazing this kid. He has a chance to leave a mark on this game.”
Still, neither has made it to Double-A.
The man in charge of getting Torres and Mateo to the majors, vice president of player development Gary Denbo, understands the challenges ahead, which is why he doesn’t concern him too much with the fact the Yankees are considered to have one of the best farm systems in the game.
“That’s great to hear, but there’s work to do,” Denbo said. “It’s good to have great athletes in the system, but the bottom line is they have to perform when they get to the major league level. Just average performance isn’t good enough to be a New York Yankee.”
Lately, though, it has been, and that’s what they’re trying to fix.