Ronny Mauricio tearing it up in Triple-A, but will he join Mets?
New York Mets player Ronny Mauricio during a spring training workout in Port St. Lucie, Florida, Wednesday Feb. 12, 2025. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Heralded Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio has returned to baseball action with a vengeance.
After tearing the ACL in his right knee playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic in December 2023, the infielder missed the entire 2024 season. He was sent on a minor-league rehab assignment in late April, and when the 20-day window ended, he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.
Now he is on a torrid hitting tear. In his first seven Triple-A games, he had a slash line of .560/.586/.960 with three home runs, seven RBIs and three stolen bases.
It sounds like the kind of hitting the Mets could use right now, but that reality still could be a while off.
“He’s doing a great job and you know number one is health and getting him back and building up the volume, and we’re continuing to do that,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said, “but any time you see players consistently hitting lasers all over the field, which is what he’s doing right now in Triple-A, you pay attention.”
After missing an entire season of playing time and development, the 17 total games Mauricio had played isn’t much, even though he appeared in 26 big-league games in 2023.
“If he were 100% healthy and has had 200 plate appearances already this year, it’s a much easier decision,” Stearns said. “If we’re going to bring him here, he’s got to play. And how does that work? We’ve got some other guys who are swinging the bat pretty well and helping us. We also have some guys who are out of [minor-league] options, so figuring out exactly what that puzzle looks like is a real part of it.”
Asked if the organization needs him to reach a certain point in his development or a certain amount of playing time, Stearns replied, “It’s more subjective. Is he comfortable playing the field regularly? Does it look right offensively? Sure seems like he got himself right pretty quickly, which is very impressive.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
