New York Mets Top Prospect Suffers Torn ACL in Winter Ball, Could Miss All of 2024

Ronny Mauricio, who could have won the starting third base job for the New York Mets this season, has torn his ACL and could miss the entirety of 2024. He did this playing in the Dominican Winter League.

UPDATE, 12/11, 2:25 p.m.: Unfortunately Mauricio has torn his ACL and could miss the entirety of the 2024 season. Because this happened during the winter and not during spring training, there is a chance that he could be back prior to the end of the season, but it's too early to tell.

Per Andy Martino of SNY:

The New York Mets got a scare on Sunday when top prospect Ronny Mauricio left a game in the Dominican Winter League with a leg injury.

Per Mets' writer Michael Mayer:

Ronny Mauricio went 2-for-4 with a triple and a walk tonight in winter ball. Also played his fifth straight game without an error. 

However, he left the game with the trainer after he came up limping running the bases.

There's no word on the severity of the injury at this point but Mauricio figures to battle with Bret Baty for the 3B job in Queens.

He appeared in 26 games for the Mets in 2023, hitting .248 with two homers and nine RBI. He got 108 at-bats for the Mets, who finished in fourth place in the National League East.

He is currently ranked the No. 4 prospect in the organization, per MLB.com:

The following comes from a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile

Mauricio looms large in the box at 6-foot-3 and can make loud impact upon contact from an open stance, especially when hitting from the left side, where he has better slugging numbers. It’s that contact part that’s been a major issue. Mauricio can get aggressive and expand the strike zone with his massive cuts, particularly against spin, leading to a 4.4 percent walk rate, lowest among Mets Minor League qualifiers. Now facing advanced pitching in the upper Minors, he’ll have to make adjustments quickly to prove he’s capable of being more than all-power, little-hit.

We'll update you with more information as it becomes available.

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