Ronny Mauricio played third base in a major league game for the first time last night, as the Mets took on the Reds at Citi Field.
The Mets no. 4 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, has played just nine games at the hot corner in his professional career, two at Triple-A earlier this year and nine in the Dominican Winter League this past offseason. Prior to that, he had played nothing but shortstop since his professional debut in 2018. However, the Mets have Francisco Lindor firmly entrenched at short for the foreseeable future. If Mauricio is going to earn a more significant role in New York next season, he’ll need to learn a new position.
Mauricio played second base in his first ten games following his promotion on September 1. He has more minor league experience at second than third, having played 56 games at the keystone for Triple-A Syracuse this season. However, third base might be a better fit for his glove long-term. His arm is his strongest defensive tool, and indeed, he showed off his cannon with an excellent throw across the diamond last night. He also made a costly error, allowing a scorching grounder to bounce off his glove and into left field, but it was the exact kind of play that third basemen learn to make. Mauricio’s instincts at the position should improve with experience.
As the young infielder told reporters (including Mike Puma of the New York Post) through an interpreter after the game, “I wasn’t sure whether to charge at it or stay back and it just got me there. I think with a couple of more reps and just working on that I can make that play.”
The 22-year-old also spent time in left field for Syracuse, starting 26 games on the outfield grass. However, the Mets have more depth in the outfield corners than at third base, especially if former top prospects Brett Baty and Mark Vientos continue to underperform. Baty is slashing .212/.282/.314 in his rookie campaign, with nine errors and -4 Outs Above Average. Vientos hasn’t been any better, slashing .205/.251/.337 with three errors in only 18 games at third.
If Mauricio continues to hit well (he’s currently slashing .282/.333/.410) and starts to look more comfortable at third base, he could put himself in a good position for next season. The Mets aren’t giving up on Baty or Vientos anytime soon, but with the way those two have struggled, Mauricio has an opportunity to move up the depth chart.
Mauricio steals the job from Baty next season, which begs the question, where does Baty end up?
Yes it’s very early, but Vientos looks badly overmatched and 4A.
No No No. Look at his history. He stayed Every level very slowly when he moved up
Thats very true
.283 .824 last 15 games
You don’t cut bait this soon on Vientos or Baty with such a small sample size. Even some of the greats were send to AAA for more seasoning. Keith says that all the time, and he was one of them. I seem to recall HOFer Willie Mays was sent down after a poor start.
Yeah, and thousands of others were also sent down and DIDN’T become Willie Mays. Just because you find one diamond in a thousand piles of dung doesn’t mean you should keep every future pile of dung in case it turns into a diamond.
I feel the same way. Both Baty and Vientos have been too good in the minors to just give up after such a short time. They’ve gotten some valuable MLB experience this year. With Stearns coming in and their turnover in player development, I think the Mets will go with Baty (3B), Vientos (1B/3B/DH), and Mauricio (2B/3B/OF) all year next year. Plenty of ABs to go around, and Acuña will potentially come up near the end of the season as well.
Willie Mays was not sent back down, but he did get a bad start. Something like 1 for his first 25.
Of course Baty and Vientos have had a longer run, but I agree it is too early to give up on them. If we are having this conversation a year from now it might be a different story.
Vientos I would cut bait on if somebody is offering anything of a value. He has serious holes in his swing.
But…but…but…a couple of weeks ago a certain Mets fan talked like Vientos was a sure thing, and that he’d pretty much proven it in his small sample. Even offered a sort of boast that I’ll see.
Dave Kingman had 40 HR power but was tossed around as a fill in player. Needs to do more than just hit HRs.
If Mauricio plays the position well on defense, something neither Vientos nor Baty have the ability to do, and hits well while continuing to show he can limit his K like he did in Syracuse this season, do you continue to give Vientos or Baty games in the majors at 3B or do you hand the spot to Mauricio?
Mays was called up May 24, 1051 and never spent another day in the minors.
1951. Voice to text is not so accurate.
@westcoastmetsfan Then your brain is Swiss Cheese, son—Willie Mays never went back to the minors after he was brought up May 25, 1951.
Seriously—that’s the kind of claim that makes one doubt your parentage.
I like Mauricio at 2nd. Baty should be the everyday third baseman next year, he needs consistent playing time. If he shows nothing, hes the next Carter Kieboom, thats all there is to it. The organization should give these guys every chance to succeed. While I do like Vientos, he strikes out way too much and never walks. If he can tweek his appproach at the plate then he can be a really solid hitter. On defense hes unplayable and too slow. Alvarez should be playing everyday, as a catcher and then a DH on his offdays. If he can play 150 games a year, he can easily hit around 35 HRS and as a catcher in this day and age, thats elite
Well said.
For once, we agree on everything. Though expecting 150 games from Alvarez might be a bit much. I would be happy with 130-140 games. I’m sure his conditioning will improve, but he’s seemed wiped out for a few weeks already.
Alvarez has hit .280/.379/.600/.979 in the 9 games he has played in this month. He had a horrendous August at the plate.
In today’s game, 110-115 games is probably the most a catcher will start at that position. Most teams with a good hitting catcher are trying to get them a few starts at DH. Alvarez has 93 starts at catcher and 7 as a DH and a few others he came into the game as either a C or DH later in the game.
Easily hit 35 HR. You should take a peek at the players to hit 35 HR this season.
10 guys, by the way.
@Sid Bream Speed Demon his average won’t be high but he has the power to hit 35. Hes like the National League version of Cal Raliegh
150 games a year? Not behind the plate. 35 hrs is great but he’s an awful catcher. Looks like a DH and part time C on a good squad.
But…but…but…certain Mets fans talked like he was a sure thing earlier. And my notion of waiting to see what happens when the league adjusts to him was considered stupid.
Weird. Savant has his defensive value in the 88th percentile thanks to his elite framing skills. Are they wrong, or are you?
Awful catcher? You’re kidding right?
There are holes in his game but things like the silly pickoff attempts will improve with age. Gives up a lot of SB, though, and it’s not the pitchers.
Alvarez is a very good defensive catcher
fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?lg=all&sea…
baseballprospectus.com/leaderboards/fielding/
According to, as always stated by their creators, the work-in-progress defensive stats.
He’s actually impressed me defensively, but that may be because i was expecting him to be awful.
According to the experts. Something we know absolutely that you are not.
Who are the “experts”?
If it’s the creators of the stats, they themselves say that defensive stats are a work in progress. Would you really argue with what the creator of something says about their own work?
That you don’t know who developed those stats, tells me all I need to know.
If Mauricio hits and is able to keep the K’s down, he will win the spot at 3B. He has both the pop in his bat and the arm to stick at 3B. Baty and Vientos have shown nothing so far with the bat or on defense.
McNeil has been too good to give up on after one bad season and he is under contract through 2026. Unless he is traded, he will be the starting 2B.
2+9 = 9
I love MLBTR math.
Well aside from those 9 (11?) games, he’s played his entire pro career at shortstop. But he somehow regained his amateur status and played 56 games at 2B on a volunteer basis. Or something like that.
Here’s food for thought; move Lindor to 3rd, have Mauricio at SS. I know it was his 1st game in the Majors at 3B last night, but Maurcio looked like he had no instincts on how to play there. Put him back at his natural position to take the pressure off of learning a new position.
So you want to move one of the best SS in baseball off SS to 3B for a rookie with 11 games in the majors? You are not serious, are you?
Better idea: put Alonso at SS. He’d easily be one of the best hitting SS of all time. Then we can move mcneil to catcher. Get some of those squirrel reflexes behind the dish. Then we move Alvarez to RP because he’s got a great arm and we could use all the help we can get. That opens up 2b for Mauricio.
Surprised there was no mention of the Baty injury being the reason this is happening.
Mauricio played more than 9 games at 3B in the Dominican league.
Bref is missing all of the playoffs games he played in with the Tigres.
he played an additional 15 of 21 games at 3B during the Round Robin and Championship Series
But…but…but…how could the Mets give Mauricio the shot over ‘George’ Brett Baty, the first ballot Hall of Famer?
What next? Will they give another catcher a chance against Francisco Alvarez when he’s already a Hall of Famer and will only need to go through the wait after retirement and through the voting system as a formality?
This insane move with Mauricio and Baty opens up the floodgates for more sure things with the Mets to be replaced.
Same could be said of the marlins. i remember someone saying how great sixto was and sandy and how fortes was going to be such a big upgrade at catcher for the team. Arraez was going to carry them to the playoffs and the championship etc etc
I wonder who said that…or are you making that up because I’ve been in conversations with the other Marlins fans on this site, and don’t recall any of them saying some of what you said.
Sixto, when healthy was great, but I’m a believer in letting a guy prove it over at least a couple of years.
Sandy has been a legit frontline starter, and has a Cy Young to his credit, so I’m not sure what’s your point…unless capitalizing on his step back this year.
As for Fortes, while we do see some of his tools, I think every Marlins fan saw him as a bat with a need to improve his defense. He’s improved the defense, but the bat has stepped back since the league figured him out. And you know I’ve always called every prospect, regardless of team, for not being proven until you see how they respond to the league figuring them out.
And Arraez and championship? What Marlins fan said championship? Call him out like I do to your Mets fans. Or was that made up? And a little FYI…the Marlins are still in the playoff hunt. They’d be in position if your Mets actually did something against the Reds tonight.
Personally and im sure others disagree, Mauricio i think will hit more than the rest of recent call ups But he is going to hit major lulls like a gary sanchez. couple weeks of tremendous work and then disappear for a month. His arm plays 3b from the sound of it didnt see his work there and only reading articles and if he is shortstop he probably has that part but learning it on the fly is not easy but since mets are out of it why not see what they got.
Alvarez will be a very good catcher and i think he will because most catchers that hit around league average are on the upper end for catchers and he handled the staff well enough considering how young he is ( i would like to see more of a sandy leon be the back up and bring along alvarez’s def up some but we have Navaez which is more bat first).
Baty i think will be average 3b or maybe a move to lf or 2b with ending around a 230-240 average and 15 hr potential maybe more upside if the heat isnt on him (i feel the ny pressure got to him since he was really first called up to stay)
Vientos some thought he was worth Hader straight up, im still thinking he will be an ike davis type power potential but onlya couple of years of meaningful baseball maybe a little more since dh there. I peg his bat a little more power than baty but with a lot of def downgrade. i think dh platoon and backup 1b.
I think in the end Baty goes in a deal for a wildcard high ceiling low floor type of pitcher maybe backend rotation guy and comes back and beats us after he leaves (ala justin turner yes i know released), Vientos does a decent couple of years gets held on a year too long gets salary dumped trade (ike davis) and Mauricio becomes a McNeil/Murphy type with trading average for power. Plays multiple positions not great but ok
I think Alvarez will put up big power numbers and end up a top tier C but also a very streaky hitter, like youre saying w mauricio and i agree… feast or famine types, which is tough for teams to survive when in a drought
They need some steadier hitters, like mcneil and nimmo are more often than not (and when theyre not, the team struggles to score)
Apparently we’re entering a youth movement. You don’t give up on the movement you’re trying to accomplish, more so the players you drafted to be part of that. Gotta give the kids more than their rookie year before calling it in. Three years. Nothing there then you look at option B. Baty at 3B and Mauricio at 2B would be my preference, but I’m guessing McNeil holds down 2B and Baty takes LF while Mauricio covers 3B. Guess we’ll see how this plays out.
Baty is not a major leaguer, trade him while he still has some “mystery” to him if he will develop.
Still feel Baty could be the Mets version of Alex Gordon (formerly of KC). Future will be in LF.