Another year, and another tough preseason blow for the New York Mets who just cannot seem to catch a break in the injury department. After a promising start to his young MLB career, Mets slugger Ronny Mauricio again joined Tigres del Licey in the Dominican winter league, where he had an impressive slash line of .433/.452/.667 and an OPS of 1.118. Things only appeared to be on the up for the young talented infielder until yesterday in a game against Águilas Cibaeñas. Mauricio had reached first base and looked poised to attempt a steal. He then stopped in between first and second and fell to the ground in obvious pain. It would not be until today that Mets fans greatest fears were realized. Mauricio had torn his ACL and will need surgery in order to repair it. 

Mets fans cannot help but feel as though a hex has been placed on their beloved ballclub as this was hardly shocking news to most of the orange and blue faithful. Before the beginning of last season, Mets star closer and MLB’s reliever of the year Edwin Diaz tore his ACL celebrating Puerto Rico’s win over the Dominican Republic in last year's World Baseball Classic. The right-handed reliever missed the entirety of the 2023 MLB season, as the Mets never seemed to get going after the setback. They would finish 75-87 on the season, placing fourth in the NL East.

So how will this off-season blow affect this year’s Mets? Given Mauricio’s promising start in Queens last season, many fans fear that this injury will stunt his development. The main concern is that this injury may cause the young Dominican to fall into the same disappointing cycle of so many former Mets prospects. Included with this, it appears that third base will belong almost exclusively to Brett Baty this season. Baty, who was more or less a disappointment in his first full season in the Big Apple last season, will get yet another opportunity to prove himself as a genuine MLB talent. 

My Thoughts? 

This injury will be a massive blow to a Mets team still seeking consistency in the Steve Cohen era. After the disappointments of last year, it is no surprise that they were sellers at last season's trade deadline. The future in Queens, however, appears to be quite bright. The acquisitions of young promising prospects Luisangel Acuña and Drew Gilbert should bring excitement to the minds of fans despite the injury to Mauricio. Whenever the young gun does return, he will be in the company of several young stars looking to make a run in the National League. A stark contrast to the Mets of just last year, several of their players will be under the age of 30.

Mauricio has shown his ability to handle adversity before, he was in the minors almost all of last year despite the big club’s struggles. Even with this, Mauricio lived up to his hype in the short time that he had with the team. It is my belief that Ronny will only come back from this injury stronger and will be a real threat on a team that is set to make some real noise when the “Baby Mets” join established stars Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso in this new exciting era of Mets baseball.