Ronny

Mauricio

It’s an unfortunate break for the Mets who are already without Francisco Lindor (calf). By the time Mauricio is ready to return, Lindor should already be back and his shot at an everyday role will be gone. Bo Bichette is starting at shortstop on Sunday and is expected to see the bulk of the action there until Lindor is able to return.

Mauricio sustained the injury while diving headfirst into first base during Saturday’s game against the Angels. No word yet on how long the Mets expect him to be sidelined for. Vidal Brujan was promoted from Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday to take his place on the team’s active roster.

He suffered the injury when he jammed his thumb on first base while sliding headfirst. It’s a tough break for the Mets and for Mauricio, who finally had an opportunity to run with a full-time gig while Francisco Lindor (calf) is shelved. Bo Bichette slid over to cover shortstop after Mauricio was removed on Saturday with Brett Baty covering third base and that may be the Mets’ best path until Lindor is ready to return.

Down 3-0 through five, the Mets rallied to tie the game in the sixth before Mauricio’s 111.3-mph solo shot off José Fermin. The homer was Mauricio’s only hit of the day, but all three of his balls in play were hit at least 100 mph. With nine homers and 11 steaks in 321 career major league plate appearances, he might have something to offer in deeper mixed leagues while Francisco Lindor is on the injured list.

“He’s going to be down quite a bit here,” Mendoza added. Lindor won’t be cleared to resume baseball activities until at least mid-May, which puts his likely return timeline somewhere in June, in a best-case scenario. The 32-year-old fantasy star hit the shelf with a left calf strain earlier this week. There isn’t an official return timeline from the Mets, but fantasy managers should anticipate Lindor missing a significant amount of time. His extended absence clears the runway for former top prospect Ronny Mauricio to make some noise at the highest level following a strong stretch at Triple-A Syracuse.

He should be in for a bigger role this time around with Francisco Lindor on the 10-day injured list. Mauricio was 1-for-4 with a walkoff RBI single in an earlier stint with the Mets and was hitting .293/.349/.638 in 63 plate appearance with Triple-A Syracuse. He’s never lacked for minor-league power, but the hit tool makes him a speculative pick-up at best in shallow leagues at this time. He’s batting eighth in today’s lineup for the Mets and playing shortstop with Bo Bichette at third base as usual.

This makes sense since Francisco Lindo injured his calf in Wednesday night’s game and was removed in the fourth inning. The Mets still have not announced MRI results for Lindor, but a trip to the injury list seems likely, and manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game that the Mets would likely call up somebody who has experience playing shortstop. Mendoza did not rule out simply keeping Bo Bichette at shortstop, but Mauricio has experience playing third base as well, so he could push Brett Baty for playing time. He’s worth an add right now in deeper formats since he was hitting .315/.362/.685 with six home runs in Triple-A.

Mendoza added that Lindor is unlikely to play in Thursday’s series finale against Minnesota and will undergo imaging to determine the severity of the issue. The 32-year-old franchise building block suffered the injury while scoring on Francisco Alvarez’s fourth-inning double. It certainly sounds like a trip to the injured list is in play. There should be some clarity on his status prior to Thursday’s contest. It would likely be a red-hot Ronny Mauricio coming up from Triple-A Syracuse to take Lindor’s roster spot, if he’s facing an extended absence.

Well, the Mets could sure use some of that. Mauricio is now up to six home runs and 13 RBI in his 14 games at Triple-A with a .315/.362/.685 slash line. He does have some swing and miss concerns, but he can play anywhere on the infield, so the Mets might want to find some room for his bat if their offense continues to struggle.

Mauricio winds up drawing the short straw from a roster standpoint as the Mets add veteran Tommy Pham to their outfield mix. The 25-year-old infielder got into a pair of contests for New York during his latest stint with the club.