The Mets have added infield prospect Ronny Mauricio to their 60-man player pool and placed catcher Rene Rivera on the 45-day injured list, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets. Rivera’s dealing with a hyperextended left elbow.
Mauricio is still just 19 years old and hasn’t played above the Single-A level, so he remains a ways off from the majors. Regardless, not only does he rate as one the Mets’ top farmhands, but one of the game’s best prospects in general. For example, Baseball America places Mauricio at No. 70 overall and writes he has the ceiling of a “classic power-hitting corner infielder.”
Mauricio is now the third Mets prospect to join their player pool since Saturday, following catcher Francisco Alvarez and right-hander Matthew Allan. As MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk noted then, only players in teams’ pools are eligible to be traded prior to the Aug. 31 deadline. That obviously doesn’t mean the Mets are going to move any of these players (Mauricio would be especially tough to pry away), but the option is there if an enticing enough offer comes along. In all likelihood, though, the Mets added the three for developmental purposes.