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Stay or Go: Should the Mets bring Ronny Mauricio back for 2027?
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- Stay or Go: Should the Mets bring Ronny Mauricio back for 2027?
Mets infielder Ronny Mauricio 's relatively small taste of the majors in parts of three seasons can be summed up pretty easily: His chances have been sporadic and his performance at the plate has been largely ineffective, but he has displayed enough eye-popping exit velocities and light-tower power to keep your eyebrow raised just a bit.
Still just 25 years old, Mauricio has also been bitten by the injury bug.
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He missed the entire 2024 season and a chunk of the 2025 campaign after tearing his ACL while playing winter ball.
This past season, when it looked like Mauricio would get a long look at shortstop while Francisco Lindor recovered from a serious calf injury, he fractured his left thumb on a headfirst dive into first base.
Given a chance in the last two games of the 2026 season, Mauricio went off, going 4-for-7 with three homers, six RBI, and a walk. Mauricio's two home runs on Sept. 26 put an exclamation point on New York's final victory of the season, and his blast in Game 162 the next day gave the team something more to think about heading into the winter.
With Mauricio out of minor league options, it's now or never for him to stick.
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Will the Mets move on from him ahead of the 2027 season? Should they?
Apr 24, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets third baseman Ronny Mauricio (0) singles during the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
WHY IT COULD MAKE SENSE TO MOVE ON FROM MAURICIO
Three years removed from his MLB debut, Mauricio is still the same kind of offensive player he was back in 2023.
In 107 games spanning three seasons (he missed 2024 due to the ACL injury), Mauricio has never had a batting average over .248. He has never had an on-base percentage higher than .296. He has never had an OPS+ that was even league average.
Some of that can be chalked up to inexperience and infrequent chances at the big league level, but it also has a lot to do with Mauricio's inability to lay off pitches outside the strike zone.
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"He missed a lot of time, that was a nasty knee injury," Mets manager Andy Greensaid when discussing Mauricio after the 2026 season ended. "He's come back and the athleticism has returned. I don't see any residual effect from that -- from my vantage point, people come back from injuries all the time.
"Does it make life harder? Sure. Does he have every opportunity to still turn this into a good career? Sure, he does. The path forward for him is to impact the baseball consistently, and if he can, minimize the chase."
When it comes to the chase issue, Mauricio was near the very bottom of the league in 2023, 2025, and 2026 in chase percentage while unsurprisingly also being near the bottom of the league in strikeout percentage. The strikeout rate has actually ticked up each of his first three seasons, from 28.7 percent to 29.3 percent to 32.3 percent.
While bouncing around the infield and getting starts at third base, second base, and shortstop, Mauricio's defense has been a mixed bag. He might not be the best fit to play shortstop regularly, but that wouldn't be an issue with the Mets because of the presence of Lindor.
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What could impact Mauricio, though, is that the Mets will be set on the left side of the infield if third baseman Bo Bichetteopts in. At second base, New York has three highly thought of prospects at the upper levels of the minors -- Jefferson Rojas, Mitch Voit, and Émilien Pitre-- who could push Marcus Semienfor the job early next season.
/ IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
WHY IT COULD MAKE SENSE TO KEEP MAURICIO
When Mauricio squares a ball up, it often explodes off his bat.
In his three seasons in the bigs, Mauricio has consistently posted elite exit velocities with impressive bat speed to match. During Mauricio's 20-game look in the majors this past season, his barrel percentage was elite.
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To drill down a bit more, here's a deeper dive on Mauricio's big league home runs over the last two seasons:
Sept. 27, 2026: 410 feet, 107.5 mph exit velocity (batting right-handed)
Sept. 26: 411 feet, 106.6 mph exit velo (batting left-handed)
Sept. 26: 384 feet, 102.5 mph exit velo (right-handed)
May 1: 421 feet, 111.3 mph exit velo (left-handed)
July 28, 2025: 415 feet, 106.3 mph exit velo (left-handed)
July 27: 398 feet, 104.7 mph exit velo (left-handed(
July 8: 362 feet, 94.2 mph exit velo (left-handed)
June 25: 378 feet, 97.6 mph exit velo (left-handed)
June 14: 374 feet, 107.6 mph exit velo (left-handed)
June 7: 456 feet, 110.3 mph exit velo (left-handed)
As far as Mauricio's potential fit, it could come as a backup infielder and designated hitter option.
Brett Batyfigures to be in New York's plans in 2027, and could be in a super utility role. Beyond Baty, though, no one on the 40-man roster stands out as a clear backup infielder who can also be part of the DH mix.
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Jared Youngcould be the backup first baseman or part of a timeshare situation at the position, and Jorge Polancoprofiles best as a DH -- but Polanco being a contributor in 2027 is health-dependent. When it comes to Mark Vientos, it feels like his days as a Met could be coming to an end .
Regarding Mauricio's contract status, he is under team control through 2030 and won't be eligible for arbitration until 2028.
New York Mets shortstop Ronny Mauricio (0) is congratulated by shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) after hitting a home run against the New York Mets during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. / Brad Mills-Imagn Images
VERDICT
The Mets don't have to be in a rush when it comes to making a decision on Mauricio.
Unless there's a team out there that views Mauricio highly via trade, New York can simply have him come to spring training (whenever it begins, given the expected lockout) and take things from there.
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It's possible a crowded 26-man roster situation could squeeze Mauricio out, but that would likely mean that Young is on the bench, Baty is on the bench, and Polanco is healthy (along with every other expected Opening Day position player).
The likeliest outcome with Mauricio is that he doesn't seriously reduce his tendency to chase, resulting in him never being an average or better offensive performer in the majors.
But a 25-year-old switch-hitter with this kind of power potential should be given every last opportunity to reach his ceiling before the Mets move on.
