{"id":589397,"date":"2026-02-24T03:24:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T03:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/589397\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T03:24:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T03:24:25","slug":"the-motivation-fueling-ronny-mauricio-in-quest-for-mets-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/589397\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘motivation’ fueling Ronny Mauricio in quest for Mets role"},"content":{"rendered":"

DUNEDIN, Fla. \u2014 Is this the year Ronny Mauricio breaks through?<\/p>\n

From the moment he was first called up in September 2023 and immediately hit a ball 117 mph<\/a>, the Mets have been waiting for the performance to match the potential.<\/p>\n

He was slowed by a torn ACL suffered while playing winter ball in late \u201923<\/a>, which cost him all of \u201924 and part of \u201925.<\/p>\n

Now, Mauricio is healthy and trying to make sure he has a role this year after spending much of last September on the bench.<\/p>\n

\u201cI use that as a source of motivation,\u201d Mauricio said, through an interpreter, of spending much of the stretch run on the bench last season. \u201cLast year, when I wasn\u2019t playing, I was able to step back and see things I needed to improve in my game if I want to be on the field and be able to help the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Mauricio, who turns 25 in April, there were plenty of areas on which to focus.<\/p>\n

\"NewRonny Mauricio swings during the Mets\u2019 Feb. 21 Grapefruit League game. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to control the strike zone and work on my defense,\u201d Mauricio said.<\/p>\n

More than anything, though, he wants to make sure he remains in one piece.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to stay healthy,\u201d Mauricio said. \u201cI\u2019m hitting the gym as much as possible to stay fresh for the whole season. I feel more stable now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The knee injury cost Mauricio plenty. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s eager to put it behind him, which he\u2019s confident he\u2019ll be able to do this spring.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to maintain my speed and be the type of player I know I\u2019m capable of being,\u201d Mauricio said. \u201cI want to return to the type of player I was before the injury.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlos Mendoza wants to see that from Mauricio, as well, noting that his biggest takeaway from the young player this spring is that he\u2019s back in good form physically.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s healthy,\u201d the Mets manager said. \u201cWhen you watch him take ground balls [and] the way he\u2019s moving around, there\u2019s no limitations there now. He\u2019s free. He\u2019s happy to finally be a full-time player for us without any restriction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NewRonny Mauricio makes a throw during the Mets\u2019 Feb. 21 Grapefruit League game. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDelivering insights on all things Amazin\u2019s\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Mets by Mike Puma, exclusively on Sports+\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

In Monday\u2019s 4-3 win over Toronto, Mauricio started at third, walked, and ran the bases with abandon.<\/p>\n

With Francisco Lindor out due to a hamate-bone fracture, there\u2019s even more of an opportunity for Mauricio to contribute and show the Mets he belongs not just on the roster but on the field.<\/p>\n

That might be tougher when they are at full strength and have Lindor back at shortstop, with Jorge Polanco at first base, Marcus Semien at second and Bo Bichette at third. <\/p>\n

Mauricio nonetheless wants to give them something to think about.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last two years, I haven\u2019t been able to have a real spring training because [of the injury],\u201d Mauricio said. \u201cI want to show I can play wherever the team needs me: second, third or short.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DUNEDIN, Fla. \u2014 Is this the year Ronny Mauricio breaks through? From the moment he was first called…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":589398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2395],"tags":[5,1816,778,58,4171,4,61,4804,185,151],"class_list":{"0":"post-589397","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-marlins","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-marlins","10":"tag-miami","11":"tag-miami-marlins","12":"tag-miamimarlins","13":"tag-mlb","14":"tag-new-york-mets","15":"tag-ronny-mauricio","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-spring-training"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116123473025183962","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/589398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}