Ronny Mauricio walked off the field with a slight limp after crumbling to the dirt while running the bases Sunday night in his Dominican Winter League game.
Mauricio, the No. 4 prospect in the Mets’ organization, was leading off at first and took two or three hard strides — as if he were stealing — toward second, before stopping, turning back toward the plate and then falling.
Video from the injury scare showed three staff members standing next to Mauricio and remaining by his side as he walked off the field under his own power, and as of Monday afternoon, there wasn’t a clear injury update.
According to Metsmerized, Mauricio finished 2-for-4 on Sunday — hitting a triple and drawing a walk — for Tigres del Licey, which is the team he won the Dominican Winter League’s MVP award with last season.
In seven games for Tigres del Licey this year, according to Baseball-Reference, Mauricio hit .433 with a 1.118 OPS — including 13 hits in 31 plate appearances — while striking out just three times, though it’s unclear if those stats were updated after Sunday’s game.
Mauricio, 22, made his MLB debut last season and logged 26 games with the Mets, hitting .248 with two home runs, nine RBIs and a .643 OPS.
He’s one of three prospects who could factor into the Mets’ third-base equation next season along with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, though during his cameo last season, 21 of his starts came at second base while the other five were at third.
Still, after what happened nine months ago, the last thing the Mets needed was another injury scare outside of the regular season.
Closer Edwin Diaz tore his patellar tendon in March and missed the entire season after celebrating with his Puerto Rico teammates after their victory in the World Baseball Classic.
He’d recorded the final out to secure their spot in the quarterfinals, but the celebration turned into a disaster when Diaz — the anchor of the Mets’ bullpen with 32 saves in both 2021 and 2022 — needed a wheelchair to exit.
That forced the Mets to scramble and adjust their bullpen, something they never quite finalized throughout their disappointing, 75-87 campaign.