Delaware OF Sal Mineo Becomes Second Transfer Portal Commitment for UVA Baseball

The transfer portal is open in college baseball, and the Virginia Cavaliers have some big names they are going to have to replace next season, while also having a young foundation to build around. The portal is going to be important for Chris Pollard to utilize and he has his second transfer portal addition today with the commitment of Delaware OF Sal Mineo. Mineo started 54 games last season, hitting .304 with 7 HRs and 32 RBI and stealing 16 bases.

How does he fit with the roster?

RHP Jayden Stroman
, 3B Aiden Harris
, P Matt Augustin
, OF LJ Edwards
, P Ben Schulman are the players who have announced their intention to depart Virginia.

Mineo is a rising junior and I think that he is going to slot right in as either an everyday player in the outfield or as a potential DH. AJ Gracia is a likely first round pick in the upcoming MLB Draft and was one of the best hitters in the country. Replacing him is not going to be easy, but Pollard may have landed on a player that is just starting to hit his stride.

Mineo began his career at Ohio State before transferring over to Delaware and during his one season with the Buckeyes, he hit .188 in 64 plate appearances. He hit one double, one triple, and drove in seven runs. He improved those numbers drastically and I believe that there is still improvement to be made next season in Charlottesville.

Not only is Gracia not going to be there next season (in all likelihood), but guys like Harrison Didawick, Noah Jouras, Sam Harris, Kyle Johnson, and Antonio Perrotta could all be gone as well. Didawick was one of the leaders for this team this past season and a player like that, who had been a multi year starter and someone who was integral to UVA’s past runs to Omaha, is not going to be easy to replace.

Another big area that UVA is looking to fill is in the bullpen, as they are going to be missing Lucas Hartman, Tyler Kapa, Joe Colucci, and Kevin Jaxel while Kyle Johnson is eligible for the draft.

UVA also has a commitment from Seton Hall grad transfer LHP John Downing. Downing is a candidate to be a huge player in the bullpen for UVA after being a preseason All-Big East selection and going 6-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 50 innings in 2025.

There is sure to be more to come for Pollard and his staff this offseason. Mineo is just the next piece to the puzzle.

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