NEW YORK – Ronny Mauricio, a promising Mets prospect who was considered a candidate to be the team's everyday third baseman as early as Opening Day, has suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and will require surgery, the team announced Tuesday. Although the Mets declined to provide a timetable for Mauricio's recovery, the injury will almost certainly keep him out for the start of the season.
Mauricio was playing for Licey in the Dominican Winter League on Sunday when he fell while taking a second lead from first base. After speaking to the coaches, Mauricio left the field on his own, but the subsequent examination revealed that the ligament was torn. According to the Cleveland Clinic, such injuries typically take six months to a year before an athlete can return to play.
Mauricio, the Mets' fourth-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, debuted in September with a .248/.296/.347 slash line in 26 games. The 22-year-old infielder played three different positions, trying out second and third base in addition to his natural position as shortstop. He was expected to compete with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos for the Mets' Opening Day third base job. Now that Mauricio is sidelined during spring training, Baty and Vientos will fight for reps alongside veteran Joey Wendle, who the Mets recently signed to a one-year deal.
Going into the offseason, there was some uncertainty about whether Mauricio would play winter ball, given his non-stop baseball schedule last year. After playing in a career-high 123 games for Double-A Binghamton in 2022, Mauricio played 46 more games for Licey last winter and won Dominican Winter League MVP honors. He then played 17 Grapefruit League games this spring, barely taking any time off between seasons, followed by 142 more games in Triple-A and the majors.
Still, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said in November that the benefits of Mauricio returning to winter ball outweighed the risks.
“He needs some time [off] Now he won’t be playing all winter, so we’ll make sure he gets plenty of recovery time,” Stearns said at the time. “But I also think repetition is important especially for some of these younger players. So if you can play at a high level in a winter ball league, sometimes under significant pressure, that’s not a bad thing.”