BALTIMORE — The sense within the Mets’ organization is that Ronny Mauricio has become stale — as in disinterested — at Triple-A Syracuse as he awaits a possible callup to the big leagues.
Just the fact Mauricio isn’t already with the Mets has rankled much of a fan base that would prefer watching the team’s prospects in the final 53 games of non-contention, and certainly a case can be built for that.
After all, Mark Vientos is finally getting an opportunity to play (at Daniel Vogelbach’s expense), joining Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty as rookies in the Mets’ lineup. Rafael Ortega started in left field Friday in a 10-3 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards, but the journeyman doesn’t figure into the Mets’ future. The same goes for DJ Stewart. Why not audition Mauricio?
The argument hinges upon whether you believe such an audition should be granted based on a philosophy of “What do the Mets have to lose?” or whether the 22-year-old Mauricio, who is the team’s best Triple-A prospect, needs to earn it.
Such a debate exists even within the organization. For now, the faction that wants Mauricio to earn it is holding steady.
It was expected that Mauricio would receive a pep talk, or something sterner, after he spent Thursday on the bench at Syracuse.
Mauricio has watched his friends Alvarez, Baty and Vientos get promoted to the Mets this season.
There is the thought that he might feel left behind, and that frustration is manifesting in his recent play.
Mauricio, entering Friday, was hitting .230 with a .745 OPS over his last 100 plate appearances. In many seasons that might be enough for a glass-half-full outlook, but it doesn’t pass muster in a year of Triple-A offensive explosion. Also, Mauricio’s strikeout rate over those 100 plate appearances was 25 percent. For the first three months of the season, he was at 16 percent.
Maybe the length of the season is catching up with him. Mauricio went from playing in the Dominican Winter League (in which he was the MVP) to spring training and then to Syracuse after organization officials debated whether he would be better off beginning the season at Double-A Binghamton and earning his promotion to Triple-A in-season. As Friday began, Mauricio had logged 1,171 plate appearances since his last real breather.
Questions persist about his defense. Mauricio was signed as a shortstop, but any dream he might have had of becoming the Mets’ next great player at the position was doused when Francisco Lindor arrived and then signed a 10-year contract extension worth $341 million. This season, Mauricio has shifted to second base and left field, but hasn’t played adequately at either position. If he were promoted to the Mets, left field and second base likely wouldn’t be options for him at this point.
Where does that leave Mauricio? Third base is one possibility. Mauricio was solid at the position over the winter, but would the Mets really want to place him there with a lack of reps at Syracuse? Besides, the Mets already have Baty and Vientos to play third base. Baty has struggled offensively and defensively and it could be argued that he might benefit from returning to Syracuse, but there have been no indications the Mets are considering such a move.
If Mauricio were promoted for this final stretch it would likely be with the idea he could play shortstop multiple times a week, allowing Lindor to slide into the DH role in those instances. Remember, the Mets aren’t playing for a pennant this year, so why burn out a player such as Lindor who figures in the team’s future? It’s not just with Lindor for whom that applies. Adam Ottavino can return next year (he has a player option) and Brooks Raley will still be under contract. The Mets aren’t going to let either burn out trying to protect leads in non-pennant-race baseball.
This isn’t the first time the Mets have wondered about Mauricio’s interest level. Last season, he languished at Binghamton after Alvarez, Vientos and Baty were promoted to Syracuse. There was internal debate at the time whether Mauricio should get handed a promotion to appease him or if he needed to earn it.
The Mets chose the latter course. A year later, they are sticking to it.
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