ANAHEIM -- Already facing the prospect of an extended absence for starting shortstop Francisco Lindor, the Mets on Saturday lost his backup, Ronny Mauricio, to a fractured left thumb. They placed him on the injured list before Sunday’s series finale against the Angels, calling up infielder Vidal Bruján from Triple-A Syracuse.
In the seventh inning of Saturday’s 4-3 loss at Angel Stadium, Mauricio hit a chopper to the right side, where Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel fielded it. Pitcher Reid Detmers was late to cover first base, however, turning the play into a foot race between Mauricio and Schanuel. Both players slid headfirst into the bag, with Mauricio breaking his thumb in the process.
"It’s tough, obviously,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “You lose your everyday shortstop and the guy that comes up that is getting the everyday opportunity here now is hurt. Somebody else is going to have an opportunity.”
With Lindor sidelined until at least late May and possibly June, Mauricio had been starting nearly every day at shortstop. Although he was batting just .219 at the time of his injury, Mauricio had contributed multiple key hits, including a go-ahead homer in the seventh inning of Friday’s 4-3 win over the Angels. On Saturday, the switch-hitting Mauricio drew a start against Detmers despite being a far stronger hitter from the left side of the plate.
Now, he will miss significant time. The Mets expect Mauricio, who will receive a CT scan on Monday to gauge the severity of the fracture, to miss six to eight weeks.
In the absence of both Lindor and Mauricio, the Mets’ shortstop situation “will be fluid,” according to Mendoza, with Bo Bichette and Bruján splitting time. Bichette, who started at short for Sunday’s series finale against the Angels, played most of his career there before moving to third base upon signing with the Mets this year. He will now split time between those two positions, with Bruján filling in at shortstop on occasion.
“Whatever the team needs,” Bichette said.
Mauricio’s absence may force the Mets to play both Brett Baty and Mark Vientos on their infield most days, even with those two struggling.
Bruján, a switch-hitter with relatively neutral platoon splits, was slashing .241/.304/.313 with five stolen bases in 24 games at Syracuse. He’s a veteran of parts of five Major League seasons, topping out at 102 games for the Marlins in 2024.
Injuries have been wreaking havoc on the Mets’ roster in recent weeks, with Mauricio joining Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr. and Kodai Senga -- among several others -- on the IL.
“It happens,” Mendoza said. “I don’t think anybody anticipated anything like that. You’re going to face adversity. But to get hit with so many position players especially, I don’t think you could prepare for something like this. But hey, nobody’s going to feel sorry, right? People need to step up, and we’ve got to keep going.”
It has been a particularly rough go for Mauricio, a former top prospect who has struggled to find his footing in the Majors. Several months after his big league debut in 2023, Mauricio suffered a knee injury that required multiple surgeries. He returned to play in 61 games last season but was largely unproductive in those contests, producing a .662 OPS. While Lindor’s injury opened a runway for Mauricio to play every day and finally make good on his potential, that opportunity has now passed.