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Jorge CastilloJun 3, 2025, 02:03 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
LOS ANGELES — Former top prospect Ronny Mauricio will join the New York Mets on Tuesday, a source confirmed to ESPN, after third baseman Mark Vientos limped off the field at Dodger Stadium with a right hamstring injury in Monday’s win.
Mauricio returns to the big leagues after making his debut with the Mets and playing 26 games as a September call-up in 2023. The infielder then tore the ACL in his right knee playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic and underwent a second knee operation last summer to remove scar tissue in the knee, further delaying his return to action.
The Mets were cautious with the 24-year-old Mauricio this spring, delaying his return to live games until late April. He played in five games in low-A before moving to Double-A for a week in mid-May and joining Triple-A Syracuse on May 18.
The hard-hitting Mauricio raked with Syracuse, batting .515 with three home runs and a 1.382 OPS in 39 plate appearances across nine games.
Mauricio played second base and third base for Syracuse and also played shortstop in two games at low-A. He primarily played second and third base for the Mets in 2023, though he also started two games at shortstop. With Vientos seemingly going to the injured list, the switch-hitting Mauricio figures to log innings at third base.
Vientos hurt his hamstring when he tripped and fell running down the first-place line as a pinch-hitter in Monday’s extra-inning win over the Dodgers. After the game, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said, “It didn’t look good.” Vientos was scheduled to undergo testing.
A breakout star in 2024, Vientos, 25, has regressed both offensively and defensively this season. He’s batting .230 with six home runs and a .678 OPS in 53 games after clubbing 27 home runs with an .837 OPS in 111 games last season. His defensive struggles — advanced metrics indicate he has been one of the worst defensive third basemen — had prompted the Mets to have him start more games as the designated hitter with Brett Baty at third base.
