PORT ST. LUCIE — Ronny Mauricio won’t be participating in baseball activities anytime soon, but is alongside his teammates this spring.
The rookie infielder, who is rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, has a locker in the Mets clubhouse and will attempt to absorb as much information as he can in camp.
“It wasn’t technically a good thing that happened,” Mauricio said Thursday through an interpreter, referring to his injury. “But it’s something I can continue to reflect on and continue to grow.”
Mauricio, 22, was tabbed as the offseason began to compete with Brett Baty and Mark Vientos for the third-base job this spring.
But playing in the Dominican Winter League, he tore his ACL.
After undergoing surgery, Mauricio’s best-case scenario is he can return to the Mets in September.
“I think it’s important that, even though he’s not on the field, that he’s a part of our conversations,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Just the connections with the boys and the coaching staff, it’s important for him because he’s a big part of what we’re trying to do here going forward.”
Mauricio appeared in 26 games for the Mets last season after his call-up in September and produced a .248/.296/.347 slash line with two homers and nine RBIs.
“He’ll get back out there in a place that we all know he can be,” Mendoza said.
Brandon Nimmo and Harrison Bader are among the players Mendoza plans to keep on the bench for the first week of exhibition games.
For Nimmo, it’s part of a buildup plan he incorporated last spring with the idea of keeping him healthy through a full season.
The Mets are also looking to minimize the number of spring games in which Bader plays with his health in mind.
Starling Marte won’t play the first few, according to Mendoza, but will see action sooner than in spring training last season after a successful stint playing in the Dominican Republic last month.