Mets injury woes get substantially worse with top prospect going down

The New York Mets have their new regime in place, with David Stearns as their new president of baseball operations and Carlos Mendoza as manager. While the team is notably in the running for Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Stearns said he was "comfortable" with some of their internal options at third base instead of pursuing a big-name option.

One of those players was their No. 4 prospect in the farm system, Ronny Mauricio.

Mauricio had been playing in the Winter League in the Dominican Republic this offseason. But on Sunday, Mauricio exited due to a knee injury, which would require him to receive MRI results.

On Monday, the Mets announced that Mauricio had torn his ACL and that a return timeline would be determined after he received surgery.

Mets prospect Ronny Mauricio suffers torn ACL

This is rough news for the Mets, as Mauricio had long been considered a crucial piece to their young corps. Now, he is in danger of missing significant time.

Per SNY, Mauricio suffered the injury while standing near first base on an apparent attempt to steal second. But Mauricio would fall to the ground and leave the game.

Mauricio received his first MLB call-up this past September, a stint that would last a total of 26 games. In that span, Mauricio recorded a .248 batting average, a .296 on-base percentage, a .347 slugging percentage, two home runs, nine RBI, 11 runs, 25 hits, 31 strikeouts, and seven walks in 101 at-bats.

In terms of fielding, Mauricio primarily played second base, where he posted a 1.000 fielding percentage after recording 46 putouts and 52 assists on 98 total chances. Mauricio played five games at third base, recording a .941 fielding percentage after posting 12 assists, four putouts, and one error in 17 total chances.

With Mauricio sidelined, it will likely be between Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Joey Wendle for the starting third base job entering the 2024 season. Considering Mauricio's potential, it will be a loss for the Mets this season. Who knows. Maybe he could have emerged as the team's long-term third base option.