Ronny Mauricio 'devastated,' Carlos Mendoza says, as Mets' third-base competition opens up
Mets second baseman Ronny Mauricio looks on from the dugout during an MLB game against the Diamondbacks at Citi Field on Sept. 12. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Ronny Mauricio was “devastated” by his recent major injury, manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday, but his extended absence won’t necessarily change the Mets’ plans at third base.
Playing in the Dominican Republic last weekend, Mauricio suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, requiring surgery that will sideline him for at least much of 2024. Asked if Mauricio will be back at all next season, Mendoza said “it’s hard to tell.”
“I feel for the kid. We all do,” Mendoza said at Citi Field, where the Mets hosted their annual holiday party for 125 Queens schoolkids. “First and foremost, we know how hard he’s worked to get to a point where he was scheduled to compete for an Opening Day roster spot. And to see something like that happen, not only to Mauricio, but to anybody is awful. So now it’s putting him in a position to get back on the field.”
The Mets still have Brett Baty and Mark Vientos (plus utility infielder Joey Wendle) as third-base options. President of baseball operations David Stearns said recently — before losing Mauricio — that he didn’t plan to bring in additional candidates.
“I don’t know if it changes,” Mendoza said. “Obviously, we’ve been saying that we have a lot of depth, right? He was part of that depth. We took a hit and we have to revisit it again, but we’re feeling pretty good with what we have. We got Mark, we got Joey, we got obviously Brett. Same guys that we’ve been saying all along.”
Learning of Mauricio’s injury was “upsetting” and “tough to hear,” Vientos said.
In a pure baseball sense, of course, it further creates an opportunity for a young player without a definitive role heading into a new season. There is lots of playing time to be won at third base and DH.
“Honestly, you see that, but I’m just focused on what the team wants,” Vientos said, still proudly donning his elf costume from the earlier festivities.
A main event of his offseason so far: visiting Francisco Lindor at his Orlando-area home for a week of workouts. After they talked about it near the end of the season, Lindor followed up after Thanksgiving, wanting to give Vientos (as well as Baty, who also has gotten an invite) a chance to change things up.
That glimpse into a high-end shortstop’s offseason routine yielded “everything I expected out of Lindor,” Vientos said. Their twice-a-day training sessions — similar to what Vientos said he does on his own — started at 7 a.m. and included hitting and fielding.
“He’s a franchise player, he’s Mr. Smile,” he continued. “Being with him and seeing all the work he does — hard work pays off, and he works his butt off every single day. I got so much out of it. Going over there and training with him, learning his mentality and the way he goes about his business is eye-opening. Seeing the way he lives is a dream. That’s what I’m working toward.”
Lindor told Newsday’s Laura Albanese recently: “Hopefully Baty comes through and we can do some stuff . . . What we’re working on right now is staying low to the ground when it comes to defense, working through the baseball and not speeding up when the ball is coming to you. And offensively, do what he does but be a little bit more consistent.”
Re-meeting the manager
Jose Quintana, dressed as Santa for the occasion, was able to chat with Mendoza in person for the first time in a long time — but not for the first time ever.
They overlapped in the Yankees’ organization from 2008-11, when Quintana was a pitcher in the lower minors and Mendoza worked a variety of player-development jobs. Mendoza was even a coach for the 2010 Charleston RiverDogs squad that Quintana briefly played for.
“Every year I saw him around the complex and he was a great mentor for all the Latin guys at that time,” Quintana said. “When I left, the next time I saw him was in the big leagues, around Aaron Boone as the bench coach. He’s great and smart and I’m very happy for him.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
