Mateo Gil

Mateo Elijah Gil

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 180 lb.
• High School Timber Creek High School (Fort Worth)

• Born July 24, 2000 in Newport Beach, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder Mateo Gil is the son of major league infielder Benji Gil. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 3rd round of the 2018 amateur draft, out of high school.

He started playing professionally with the GCL Cardinals in 2018, hitting .251 in 45 games. In 2019, he hit .262/.316/.419 in 53 games between the Johnson City Cardinals of the Appalachian League and the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League. He then had to sit out the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic. He did not stay entirely inactive, as he played winter ball with the Tomateros de Culiacan of the Mexican Pacific League before and after the forced break, with his father's influence in Mexican baseball circles likely helping him to land a spot in spite of his minimal professional experience.

On February 1, 2021, he was included in a major trade as one of five prospects sent by the Cardinals to the Colorado Rockies in return for All-Star 3B Nolan Arenado. In retrospect, the trade, from the Rockies' perspective, was a question of quantity over quality: of the five, only P Austin Gomber and IF Elehuris Montero made it to the majors, and neither had much of an impact. In Mateo's case, he played that season for the Fresno Grizzlies of the Low-A West. He hit .249 in 94 games, with 9 homers and 56 RBIs, although his OBP was a poor .294. He had been used strictly as a shortstop by the Cards, but saw action at all infield positions with the Rockies. In 2022, an injury limited to 49 games for the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League, and another 10 on a rehabilitation assignment with the ACL Rockies. In Spokane he hit .247 with 6 homers and 26 RBIs.

On December 7, 2022, he was selected by the New York Mets in the minor league portion of the 2022 Rule V Draft and had his busiest season up to that point in 2023, appearing in 109 games between High-A, AA and AAA. That was in spite of a slash line of just .217/.287/.390, with most of his value coming from his 21 doubles and 12 homers. He was very much a utility infielder by this point, and his brief stay with the AAA Syracuse Mets was largely a function of a hole to be filled at that level than of having earned the move by his production. In 2024, he played one final season in the affiliated minors, splitting it between the High A Brooklyn Cyclones and AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies. In 48 games, he hit .211 with 8 homers and 34 RBIs. He did better in winter ball, hitting .312 in 42 games for the Charros de Jalisco and helping them reach the 2025 Caribbean Series. On February 5th, he had three hits in Jalisco's 3-1 win over the Indios de Mayagüez in the tournament's semi-finals, but his team lost the finals, 1-0, to the Leones del Escogido.

In 2025 he was with Jalisco in both the Mexican League and in winter ball. In the summer season, he hit .292 in 87 games, with 9 homers and 62 RBIs, then in the winter he helped his team make it to the 2026 Caribbean Series by hitting .305 in 58 games. The Charros won their first-ever title that year, thanks to a 12-11 win over MLP rivals Tomateros de Culiacan in the final game. In the winning rally in the bottom of the 10th inning, Mateo drew a key walk off Lupe Chávez with two outs after Jalisco had scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Chavez then threw another wild pitch to end the game. He was managed by his father in that series. He had also contributed the game-tying hit in the 7th inning in the semi-finals to give his team a shot at the finals.