Mets calling up Ronny Mauricio after hot minors start

LOS ANGELES — Ronny Mauricio’s impressive offensive display since returning to Triple-A Syracuse from injury rehab was likely only going to translate into immediate consideration for the

Mets roster if there were a need.

Mark Vientos limped off the field at Dodger Stadium the previous night with right hamstring discomfort and it was obvious he potentially faced a significant layoff.

Vientos was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.

He returned to New York to receive further evaluation, including an MRI exam, that will help determine the injury’s severity.

Enter Mauricio, who was recalled from Syracuse to provide manager Carlos Mendoza with another high-ceiling offensive option.

Mauricio, 24, was back in a major league lineup — he started at third base against the Dodgers on Tuesday night — for the first time since September 2023.

“I know there’s some high expectations [for Mauricio], but we don’t want him to be the savior,” Mendoza said, before Mauricio went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in the Mets’ 6-5 loss to the

Dodgers in 10 innings on Tuesday night. “Just play your game. Don’t try to do too much. Just have fun.”

In nine games for Syracuse, he owned a .515/.564/.818 slash line with three homers and eight RBIs.

Mauricio, a switch-hitter, can play third and second base, adding to the daily puzzle Mendoza faces in constructing a lineup as the manager also looks to find at-bats for Brett Baty, Jeff

McNeil and Luisangel Acuña.

Mauricio missed all of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

It was an injury he sustained while playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic.

Any chance of him returning late last season was scuttled when he underwent a second procedure, in August, to remove scar tissue from the knee.

“I think any athlete that goes through this type of process that I went through has a lot of difficult moments,” Mauricio said. “There’s a lot of moments when you’re down, there’s some days

when you are up.”

Mauricio said the rehab process provided an opportunity to improve his English — he began twice-weekly FaceTime sessions that have helped his conversational skills.

On this day he conducted part of his interview in English, but used an interpreter as needed.

The Mets have seen glimpses of Mauricio’s raw power and athleticism in spring training, in addition to the 26 games he played for the team near the end of the 2023 season in which he posted

a .643 OPS with two homers and seven stolen bases.

“He certainly has development left in his offensive game and he’s an enormously gifted player,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said last week. “He’s likely never going to be

the type of guy with Juan Soto-type plate discipline, but there’s probably some strides he can make there. … We will continue to encourage him to make those strides while recognizing his

gift is that he hits the ball incredibly hard and we don’t want to encourage any approach that takes away from his true gift.”

Vientos had a breakout season for the Mets last year, when he emerged as the starting third baseman following his recall from Syracuse in May.

Vientos hit 27 home runs for the season and produced an .837 OPS.

But Vientos has struggled this season, both offensively and defensively.

Last month Baty returned from Syracuse to claim a share of the third base job, leaving Vientos in the DH role on occasion or on the bench.

Vientos entered Monday’s 4-3 victory over the Dodgers as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning.

In the 10th inning he hit a grounder to the shortstop hole and fell as he ran to first base. Vientos emerged grabbing at his right hamstring and walked gingerly from the field.