Ronny Mauricio, one of the New York Mets’ top prospects, is likely to miss much or all of the 2024 season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee at a winter ball game this weekend.
With the MLB offseason in full swing, the Mets have been busy in free agency looking at ways to improve their roster for next season. The organization is seen as a favorite for Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and has been linked to potential pursuits of National League Cy Young Blake Snell and six-time All-Star JD Martinez.
However, if they hope to bounce back from a highly disappointing season in 2023 they will need their core players and some of their youngsters to have big seasons in 2024. One of those prospects the organization has high hopes for is middle infielder Ronny Mauricio.
Before the team made a couple of blockbuster trades in July for elite prospects from the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, the Dominican star was arguably the top prospect in the entire farm system. Furthermore, in the finals weeks of a losing season, the 22-year-old came up for a cup of coffee in the big leagues and gave the lineup a solid boost.
Unfortunately, Mets fans may not see much of him next season.
New York Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio suffers torn ACL on Sunday
On Monday night, SNY MLB insider Andy Martino reported that “Mauricio is undergoing tests in the Dominican Republic for an injury suffered during a game Sunday, and will likely travel to New York in order to be examined by Mets doctors, according to a person familiar with the situation.”
In a follow-up to the story, Martino revealed that sources believe it is indeed a torn ACL that will require surgery.
During a winter ball game for Dominican squad Tigres del Licey, Mauricio took off from first base to fake a steal attempt and stopped abruptly. But he bent his right knee in an awkward way by stopping, and he fell to the dirt after with what is believed to be a knee injury. The severity of the injury is unclear at this time.
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Mauricio showed some exciting signs of his potential during a 26-game stint for the Mets where he posted a slash line of .248 AVG, .296 OBP, and .347 SLG over 101 at-bats. He also smashed two home runs, knocked in nine runs batted in, and swiped seven bases. He is the fourth-ranked player in the Mets minor leagues on MLB.com.
