Photo by Roberto Carlo

The New York Mets announced on Tuesday that imaging revealed Ronny Mauricio has a torn right ACL. He will require surgery and they will determine his return-to-play timeline following the procedure.

Mauricio left a Dominican Winter League game on Sunday after collapsing to the ground with a non-contact injury. Given the timing of the injury, he’s likely to miss the entire 2024 season.

This is a huge blow to the Mets as the 22-year-old was expected to compete for a starting infield job on the 2024 team.

After arriving in the majors in 2023, Mauricio slashed 248/.296/.347/.643 over 108 plate appearances. He also largely played second and third base after coming up in the minors as a shortstop. He was 13-for-30 with four extra-base hits and two stolen bases and slashed .433/.452/.667/1.118 in LIDOM this year.

David Stearns had previously said the Mets were set at third base with their internal options. He cited Mauricio as one of the options alongside Brett Baty and Joey Wendle. You have to imagine those plans change now.