A's deal speedster Mateo to Padres

In the first move since the Major League roster freeze was lifted last week, the A's shipped their No. 7 prospect, infielder Jorge Mateo, to the Padres for a player to be named or cash considerations.

The native of the Dominican Republic is coming off a season in which he compiled a .289/.330/.504 slash line in 119 games with Triple-A Las Vegas and led the Pacific Coast League in triples (14). He tied for second on the circuit in hits (154) and ranked fifth in total bases (268), eighth in stolen bases (24) and ninth in runs scored (95). It was the fifth consecutive season that Mateo has swiped 20 or more bags and his 14 triples led all Minor Leaguers for the second straight year. The 6-foot, 192-pound right-handed hitter also established career highs with 19 dingers and 78 RBIs.

The move comes as the A's 42-player group -- which is set to report to the Coliseum on Thursday ahead of its first workout on Saturday -- contained an abundance of middle infielders. Tony Kemp, longtime prospect Franklin Barreto, recently acquired Vimael Machin and Chad Pinder are in the mix for the starting second base job.

Trading Mateo not only alleviates some of the logjam but ensures the A's get something back for the slick fielding 25-year-old, who is out of options and would have become an unrestricted free agent if Oakland didn't find a place for him on the 30-man roster come Opening Day.

Originally signed by the Yankees in 2012, Mateo was traded to the A's in 2017 as a key piece of the deal that sent Sonny Gray to New York. He has a lifetime .267 batting average with 52 homers, 76 triples, 131 doubles, 302 RBIs and 283 stolen bases. He's led the Minor Leagues in thefts three times -- 2013, 2015 and 2016.