Tom Gatto

Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Ronny Mauricio is getting another shot with the New York Mets, thanks to Juan Soto's calf injury. The club recalled Mauricio from Triple-A Syracuse on Monday as the corresponding move for Soto being placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 4. The return to the majors is an important moment for the 25-year-old. He needs to impress after a difficult ending to his 2025 season. The trouble is, he figures to be the same player who spent most of the final month on the Mets' bench. Let's refresh ourselves on the best (and worst) parts of his game and offer an overall outlook on what's to come for the former top prospect. Ronny Mauricio Returns: Weighing the Pros and Cons of His Game Pro: He Hits the Ball Hard and He Hits It Far The 25-year-old switch-hitter has eight home runs in 292 career plate appearances, and half of them are catalogued by Baseball Savant as no-doubters. Upper-tank rockets at Citi Field and Coors Field, both delivered from the left side, were "wow" moments and teases of his power tool. His maximum exit velocity is 117.3 mph, his barrel rate is an above-average 7.6 percent, and his bat speed is a zippy 73.8 mph. The Mets know he can provide big-time pop off the bench. Con: He Doesn't Hit the Ball Often Enough Pitchers are good at missing Mauricio's bat, especially if they throw in a wrinkle. He sports a poor 29.1 percent strikeout rate and 32.8 percent whiff rate for his young career. His biggest hole is breaking pitches -- he has a .150/.186/.250 career slash line against them. The curveball is an unsolvable mystery, evidenced by a 50.9 percent whiff rate. Mets fans are bracing for more of Mauricio dropping to a knee as he waves at the pitch. Pro: He's an Athlete on the Infield Mauricio is tall and lanky, listed at 6-3 and 166 pounds. His mechanics aren't the smoothest, but he gets to the ball and his big arm (76th percentile arm strength in 2025) gets it across the diamond. Now that he's more than two years removed from the ACL tear that cost him the entire 2024 season, he should be able to move well wherever he plays. And he's expected to play all over as the backup to second baseman Marcus Semien, shortstop Francisco Lindor, and third baseman Bo Bichette. Con: He Is a Liability Against Left-Handed Pitching Liability is putting it kindly: Mauricio sports a .134/.174/.195 career slash line and 36.0 percent strikeout rate in 86 plate appearances as a right-handed batter. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza would have a tough time justifying a start for Mauricio against a left-hander if Semien, Lindor, Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos are all healthy. The Mets would be wise to consider making Mauricio a full-time left-handed hitter, or a simple platoon option if he wants to maintain some faux flexibility. Outlook: Mauricio Is a Full-Time Backup Mark Vientos has slipped into a full-time role in the starting lineup thanks to a white-hot start and a minor injury to Jorge Polanco, though most of the rest of the infield is struggling this season (Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette, in particular, are off to frigid starts). Mauricio will likely get an opportunity or two to spell them for a game, but he'll have to be really impressive in a small sample to stick around in New York for longer than it takes Soto to recover from his calf injury. View full article

Image courtesy of © Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images The New York Mets found out Thursday just how much their attention to the major league roster will affect them in this summer's MLB Draft. MLB allotted the club $6.731 million to sign its picks, according to a league announcement. That figure is the third-lowest pool total in the draft and about three times smaller than the $19.1 million in pool money available to the top club, the Pittsburgh Pirates. More than half the Mets' bonus pool was dedicated to their first-round bonus slot: $3.47 million for the 27th overall selection. New York is picking 27th as a penalty for exceeding the second Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) surcharge threshold last season, with an estimated $347 million tax payroll. This is familiar territory for the club; It is the fourth year in a row MLB has dropped the Mets 10 spots for exceeding CBT thresholds. Last year, the team's first selection was 38th overall. The Mets chose University of Michigan two-way player Mitch Voit at that spot and signed him to a $1.75 million bonus. The club's 2026 draft was further compromised in February when it agreed to sign free-agent infielder Bo Bichette to a three-year, $126 million contract. Bichette had received a qualifying offer from his previous club, the Toronto Blue Jays, meaning the Mets had to forfeit their second- and fifth-round selections for signing him. Barring any trades for supplemental-round picks between now and the draft, the Mets will pick 27th overall and then not again until 92nd, their pick in the third round. They received a compensatory pick after the fourth round for the Dodgers' signing of free-agent closer Edwin Diaz. The Mets made a qualifying offer to Diaz, who rejected it. The 2026 MLB Draft will be held July 11-12 in Philadelphia, the site of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game. The Chicago White Sox have the first overall selection; they're expected to take the consensus No. 1 draft prospect, UCLA infielder Roch Cholowsky. 2026 MLB Draft bonus pools Pittsburgh Pirates: $19,130,700 Tampa Bay Rays: $19,009,300 Chicago White Sox: $17,592,100 Minnesota Twins: $16,929,600 St. Louis Cardinals: $16,612,300 Kansas City Royals: $15,954,000 Atlanta: $15,870,800 Colorado Rockies: $15,557,600 San Francisco Giants: $14,080,400 Athletics: $13,840,300 Houston Astros: $13,712,700 Arizona Diamondbacks: $13,603,100 Baltimore Orioles: $13,114,000 Cleveland Guardians: $12,573,900 Washington Nationals: $12,278,300 Miami Marlins: $11,960,100 Los Angeles Angels: $11,755,400 Cincinnati Reds: $10,758,500 Texas Rangers: $10,219,200 Chicago Cubs: $9,644,100 San Diego Padres: $9,479,000 Detroit Tigers: $9,165,100 Boston Red Sox: $8,219,200 Seattle Mariners: $8,218,200 Milwaukee Brewers: $8,042,900 Philadelphia Phillies: $7,773,000 New York Yankees: $7,342,800 New York Mets: $6,730,900 Toronto Blue Jays: $5,543,100 Los Angeles Dodgers: $3,951,900 View full article

Image courtesy of © Jeff Curry-Imagn Images The New York Mets didn't need a new #LOLMets viral moment this early in the season, but here we are. The fact a team leader produced it makes it worse. Now, there are more questions about whether the club's culture has improved at all after an offseason roster overhaul. By now, you've probably seen the blunders Francisco Lindor committed Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. The shortstop forgot how many outs there were in the first inning and turned a routine double play into an embarrassing fielder's choice. Cameras caught Lindor tapping his chest afterward, claiming accountability. Fortunately for Lindor and the club, Freddy Peralta pitched around it and put up a zero. The play didn't directly factor into New York's eventual 2-1 loss in 11 innings, but, as Lindor noted after the game, Peralta had to throw more pitches and that needlessly shortened his start. "I forgot the outs,” Lindor said in response to a question by SNY's Steve Gelbs. “Unexcusable," he added. Manager Carlos Mendoza was brief, too, saying in his postgame presser Lindor "knows" he messed up. Lindor's other blunder did affect the final score, though. In the top of the sixth inning, he was picked off first base without so much as an attempt to get back to the bag. He was completely caught napping. Three pitches later, Juan Soto blasted a home run that would have prevented the game from going to extras had Lindor still been on base. Just over a week into a pivotal season for the club, the world can feel that all is right in it because the Mets are doing bad fundamentals again. Lindor's critics get another chance to gloat and troll. They can claim again that Lindor was never captain material. They can pile it onto the other dramas -- his reported tension with Juan Soto, the rumors Lindor disliked Brandon Nimmo for his politics (Lindor denied this one, telling the New York Post he "loves" his "brother"), his on-field issues with Jeff McNeil, the thumbs-down to booing fans. The league's media outlet had its own takes Thursday. MLB Network analyst Jake Peavy said on "MLB Now" that the team's vibe may still be off after it tries to move past last year's collapse. MLB Network analyst Kevin Millar said on "Intentional Talk" that mental errors are inexcusable and players show a lack of respect for the game when they commit them. Lindor tried to be a hero in spring training. He sped up his rehab from hamate surgery to be ready for Opening Day. He made it and started the first six games of the season, but he's off to another slow start: a .712 OPS inflated by seven walks, and just three hits. He needs to lock back in. Maybe Mendoza could give him a night off -- issue a suspension disguised as maintenance. If, instead, Lindor is in the lineup for every game against the Giants in San Francisco, then it'll be clear the people who matter have already moved on. It'll be left for the fans to chew on it and once more experience the bitterness that comes from rooting for a franchise that specializes in boneheaded moves. View full article

Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-Imagn Images The New York Mets showed off their retooled roster this past weekend at Citi Field. Nine offseason acquisitions made the 26-man Opening Day squad. They represented the front office's emphatic response to last season's second-half collapse and reported clubhouse drama. Fans and media got to form their initial judgments on the key newcomers as all of them appeared in the club's series win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. What did we learn from their play? Here's a quick rundown: Bo Bichette's transition to third base won't be seamless Bichette had a bumpy first series at the hot corner. He showed good hands, but his throwing was poor, a carryover from his days at shortstop. Three times he pulled first baseman Jorge Polanco off the bag with throws. All of them sailed to the arm side, an indication his release point was too low. On top of that, fans booed him for a slow start at the plate. Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters Saturday that Bichette will put in the work to improve, but until that work pays off, he will be the weak link on the infield. Devin Williams will make the ninth inning interesting Edwin Diaz's replacement got the ninth in a 0-0 game Saturday. The results were good, but the process was messy. Williams allowed a double and a walk but then fanned Reynolds to end the threat. His pitch mix was his typical 50-50 split of changeups and four-seamers, but the heater averaged just 93.0 mph, more than 3 mph off his peak of 2019 and 2020. He was unavailable Sunday after throwing 19 pitches the previous day. If only Luis Robert Jr. can stay healthy... That has been the mantra around Robert the past few years. His injury history makes him a wild card. He's healthy right now, and he came up aces this weekend. He delivered a three-run, walk-off homer in the 11th inning Saturday, a pair of RBI singles on Opening Day and two more hits Sunday. He showed why the Mets took on all of his $20 million salary for 2026. Freddy Peralta looks as advertised Peralta's Mets debut on Opening Day looked like most of his Brewers tenure: lots of Ks, lots of pitches, lots of battling, not a lot of innings. The right-hander got through five on 80 pitches (53 strikes), striking out seven and allowing a pair of home runs to Brandon Lowe. Zero bases on balls was a positive sign, given that Peralta has a career 9.3 percent walk rate. Marcus Semien's bat may not bounce back Semien had hits in his first two times up on Opening Day (thanks, Oneil Cruz), and then none the rest of the weekend. He extended the drought to 11 plate appearances by going 0-for-3 with a sac fly Sunday. Maybe his 89 wRC+ and .134 ISO last season were signs rather than outliers. The second-base defense still looks solid as he starts his age-35 season, so there's that. Jorge Polanco had his own adventures at first base Between lunging for Bichette's throws and knocking down grounders behind the bag, the guy who's replacing Pete Alonso had a busy weekend at his new position. The good news is he got through it without incident. His weekend at the plate was just slightly better; five walks inflated his OBP to .500. The jury remains out on Luke Weaver Weaver did not resemble the 2024 version of himself. He turned in two scoreless outings, but he was inefficient. He stranded one runner in a tie game Saturday and two runners in a tie game Sunday. Control was an issue -- 20 strikes and 18 balls combined. He got the ninth inning Sunday with Williams down, but it's fair to wonder how long he'll remain the fill-in closer. View full article

Image courtesy of © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images As with most team developments, New York Mets fans were not happy last November when the club acquired second baseman Marcus Semien in a trade with the Texas Rangers in exchange for outfielder Brandon Nimmo. The doomscrolling denizens of Mets Twitter were highly perturbed that team president David Stearns dealt away a fan favorite for a guy who looked washed. Were they right about the washed part? Well, they could point to the steep decline in Semien's offense over the past two years, from a 128 wRC+ in 2023 to a 101 wRC+ in 2024 and an 89 wRC+ in 2025, which was his worst output over a full season. They could also claim he was falling apart physically; he missed the Rangers' final 33 games last year with a foot contusion, and now he's entering his age-35 campaign. The response to the dissatisfied is that there's enough underlying data to argue Semien is a bounce-back candidate in 2026. Here are three reasons why he will rebound -- and three reasons why he won't: Why Marcus Semien Will Bounce Back In 2026 Semien's contact has not gotten worse. His 88.3 mph average exit velocity, 35.0 percent hard-hit rate and 6.7 percent barrel rate last year were all in line with his numbers from the previous three seasons. His average launch angle bounced back to 19.4 degrees in 2025, in line with results dating to 2020. His bat speed is slow (eighth percentile in 2025), but it did increase by a tenth of an mph to 68.4 in 2025. If the ball keeps coming off the bat the same and he gets better luck than last year's .251 BABIP, then better results should follow. He'll be hitting in a better lineup. Semien is going from a club that ranked 22nd in runs per game last year to a club that ranked ninth. Obviously, the Mets' lineup was revamped over the offseason -- Stearns essentially swapped out Nimmo, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil for Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco and Semien. The top six most days will be Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Bichette, Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., and Brett Baty. Those guys should present Semien with a lot of RBI opportunities from the seven-hole. He'll be hitting in a better home park. Citi Field rates as friendlier to right-handed hitters than Globe Life Field in Arlington. Last season, Citi ranked 25th in MLB with a 95 park factor for righty swingers (100 is considered league-average), while Globe Life ranked dead last at 90. The ball just does not carry well in the retractable-roof stadium. Semien said in spring training that he remains intent on pulling the ball in the air. His pull air percentage last year was slightly down at 23.8 percent, but that was still above average. Driving the ball to the pull side in a better hitting environment should at least help him improve on last year's career-low .364 slugging percentage. Why He Won't He couldn't handle the hard stuff last year. This is the biggest red flag. His numbers against four-seamers tanked -- he produced a career-worst minus-5 run value against the pitch. His 36.0 percent hard-hit rate and .235 xBA against it were way down from previous seasons. Consequently, his .391 slugging percentage on the pitch was significantly lower as well. The naysayers can carp that the old man can't catch up to the heater anymore. He's making less contact overall. His Z-contact rate (contact on pitches in the strike zone) fell by just one point in 2025 to 88.0 percent, but his O-contact rate (contact on pitches outside the zone) dropped by 5.7 points, to 52.2 percent. That could be attributed to opponents working him differently. He saw larger percentages of sinkers, cutters, split-fingers, and curveballs, and smaller percentages of four-seamers, sliders and changeups, in 2025 compared to 2024. His overall whiff rate ticked up by 2.4 points from 2024, and so it followed that his K rate, while still good, increased by 2.8 points to 17.4 percent last year. His plate appearances will drop by a lot. Semien regularly made 700 or more PAs in a season as a leadoff hitter, but he's looking at a sizable decrease hitting in the lower third of his new club's order. The outlook will be even more grim if he misses time with an injury again. Verdict Semien will return to being league average if he stays healthy. His preseason wRC+ projections back up that claim; they ranged from 95 (OOPSY) to 105 (THE BAT X), with most of the others in the range of 100 to 103. His 30-100-100 days appear to be over, but 20-70-70 looks realistic. It's fair to assume the Mets would take those latter numbers from their seventh hitter. View full article