The Mets have plenty to sort out after another season that fell short, and Ronny Mauricio still sits right in the middle of one of those decisions.
New York finished last in the NL East for the first time since 2003, and with the club carrying the second-highest payroll in baseball, changes are expected. There is some stability on the horizon: Nolan McLean, Zac Thornton, and Christian Scott give the Mets what looks like a solid young starting-pitching core, while Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor will still be part of the mix. Beyond that, though, the future of several younger players remains murky.
Mauricio is one of them. The infielder is coming off another rough big-league season, and that has naturally raised questions about whether the Mets will keep investing in him. But despite the uneven results, New York probably ought to give him at least one more year.
His path has been interrupted almost constantly by injuries. Mauricio debuted in the majors in the final month of the 2023 season, but health has been the recurring problem for the 25-year-old. He missed all of 2024 after tearing his ACL in December 2023 while playing in the Dominican Winter League, a setback that wiped out an entire season and limited his chances to get back on track.
The Mets brought him up again on June 3, 2025, and he appeared in just 61 games that year. Mauricio hit .226/.293/.369 with six home runs, 10 RBI, and four stolen bases, numbers that were not enough to keep him in the majors. That production led New York to option him to Triple-A Syracuse at the start of the 2026 season.
He did return in the first week of April, and for a moment it looked like the Mets might be getting something closer to the player they had been waiting for. A day after being recalled, Mauricio delivered a walk-off RBI single against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 6. But the good feeling didn’t last.
Less than a month later, on May 3, he fractured his left thumb while sliding into first base against the Los Angeles Angels. He had been covering for the injured Francisco Lindor, but even after being activated from the IL, Mauricio was sent back to Triple-A. That only deepened the uncertainty around his place in Flushing.
Still, the final week of the regular season may have changed the tone around him.
Against the Washington Nationals in the Mets’ regular-season finale, Mauricio put together the kind of stretch the organization has been waiting for. Over that series, he went 4-for-7 with three home runs and five RBI. Before that burst, he had hit just one homer and driven in only three runs all season.
He also looked crisp defensively at second base in the final game against Washington. With second base still unsettled after Marcus Semien’s disappointing season, Mauricio’s ability to move around the diamond - with first base the only spot excluded - could give the Mets a useful piece if he can stay on the field.
The sample was small, but the late surge mattered. Mauricio finally looked relaxed and sure of himself at the plate, and that at least gives the Mets and their fans something to hang onto heading toward 2027.
This roster could look different by Opening Day, and New York may decide to move on from other young players who haven’t delivered. Mauricio may be near the top of that conversation, but the talent is still there, and the Mets should give him one more chance to prove the long wait was worth it. If he can stay healthy and carry over that strong finish, bringing him back for spring training makes sense.
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