Baseball Reopening: Oakland A's Make Trade; Will Play In Stadium Filled With Fan Cutouts
OAKLAND (CBS SF/AP) -- The San Diego Padres have acquired middle infielder Jorge Mateo from the Oakland Athletics in the first trade since baseball resumed after a shutdown of more than three months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Padres will send either a player or cash to the A's for the 25-year-old Mateo, who will be added to the player pool for the resumption of spring training. The Padres are scheduled to have their first workout Friday at Petco Park.
The trade was announced Tuesday.
Mateo is a former top prospect with the New York Yankees, who signed him as a non-drafted free agent at 17 out of the Dominican Republic. He is a .267 hitter in eight minor league seasons.
He was sent to Oakland in the Sonny Gray trade in 2017. He was with Triple-A Las Vegas in 2019, hitting, .289 with a .834 OPS and a minor league-leading 14 triples in 119 games.
Meanwhile, the A's announced they were selling cardboard cutouts with fans' photos that they will put in the seats at the Coliseum this season. The team also plans to mix in images of former players and celebrities alongside the fan cutouts.
Major League Baseball is looking to play a 60-game regular season this summer because of the coronavirus. There will be no fans at ballparks on opening day, but some markets are hoping to play in front of smaller crowds by the end of the season.
The cardboard cutouts for A's games range in price from $49 to $129. Each purchase through the team website includes two tickets to the A's first home exhibition game during the 2021 season. Proceeds from the sales go to charity.
The $129 level is a Foul Ball Zone cutout. If one of those cutouts gets hit with a foul ball, the A's will send a ball to the fan on the cutout.
