The Mets suffered another injury blow during their extra-innings loss to the Angels, as Ronny Mauricio hurt his left thumb while sliding into first base in the sixth inning.
The injury was later revealed to be a fracture, landing him on the injured list. Although he finished running the bases that inning, he exited the game shortly after.
Mauricio had been filling in at shortstop for Francisco Lindor, who was placed on the IL on April 23 with a calf strain.
He now joins a growing list of sidelined Mets, including Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., Kodai Senga, and Jared Young.
With both Mauricio and Lindor out, the Mets face a tough decision at shortstop. Bo Bichette—currently playing third base—has experience at short, but his defense there has never been standout and has declined over time.
Promoting Triple-A options like Vidal Bruján or Jackson Cluff doesn’t offer much offensive upside, so one of them is more likely to serve in a limited backup role.
If Bichette shifts to shortstop, Brett Baty would likely take over at third base, forming an infield of Baty at third, Bichette at short, Marcus Semien at second, and Mark Vientos at first—an alignment that may raise concerns about defense.
