How many more times are we going to see a report about the Mets planning to call up prospect Ronny Mauricio before it’s actually true? The limit does not exist, apparently.
As the Mets rested on Monday before starting their series at Citi Field against the White Sox, the pot got stirred on Twitter:
According @ander_beisbol the #Mets plan to call up Ronny Mauricio tomorrow. https://t.co/4grqefLgbJ
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) July 18, 2023
I hadn’t heard of Anderson Vargas before. However, the fact that Hector Gomez felt comfortable quote-tweeting his report is what likely sent Mets Twitter into overdrive. If Ronny was finally getting the call from Syracuse, who on the roster would be getting the boot??
Don’t think about it too much, though, folks. Less than an hour after the above tweet, SNY’s Andy Martino once again threw cold water on the rumor:
The Mets are not calling up Mauricio. The rumor is not accurate. https://t.co/qXOA9u8joG
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) July 18, 2023
Well, OK then. Isn’t it weird that there have been so many reports of Mauricio on the verge of getting promoted, though? This is now the fourth (!) time there’s been an unconfirmed rumor about Mauricio heading to the big leagues. But every time, that rumor has either been shot down or proven untrue.
The people reporting are only as good as the sources they trust. But with how many false starts we’ve had, we might as well not put any stock into a Ronny Mauricio promotion rumor until one of baseball’s major news breakers either reports or confirms it.
As great as it would be to see Mauricio in the big leagues, the timing doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. He’d probably play second base, which would mean Jeff McNeil would push to the outfield (if not the bench), but then who is the odd person out? Tommy Pham? I don’t think so — not right now, at least. Maybe it’d be Starling Marte or Daniel Vogelbach. But, Vogey seems to have the highest levels of job security, which is mind-boggling.
These next couple of weeks are the Mets’ last chance to get back in the postseason chase. They’re already “open for business” according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, so time is of the essence.
If Mauricio makes it to the big leagues in the near future, one would have to imagine it’d happen after some trades and there’s a clear path to consistent playing time. We know how tough that is to come by for young players with manager Buck Showalter. Just ask Mark Vientos.
Through 358 plate appearances in Triple-A, Mauricio is slashing .299/.344/.512 with 25 doubles, two triples, 14 home runs, 52 RBI, and 14 steals. His bat is heating up right now, too. After posting a .620 OPS in June, it’s up at .890 so far in July.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.