Ronny Mauricio has become the forgotten man on the Mets roster — a fact that manager Carlos Mendoza isn’t about to sugarcoat.
“He’s in a tough spot, and it’s a tough spot for me, too,” Mendoza said Wednesday before the Mets fell to the Padres at Citi Field, 7-4.
Entering play, the rookie had just four at-bats in September, all of them in a pinch-hitting role.
Mauricio’s last start came on Aug. 24, when he started at third base in Atlanta.
And he saw no action again Wednesday night.
Mendoza cited the competition Mauricio faces on a daily basis for playing time, with Jeff McNeil, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Starling Marte all vying for at-bats.
Vientos was squeezed from the starting lineup on Wednesday, as Marte got the start at DH.
Mauricio produced only a .410 OPS in August after thriving for the team earlier in the summer.
The Mets also have Luisangel Acuña as an infield option.
He specializes in pinch running and defensive replacement duty.
“It’s not an easy situation for a young player,” Mendoza said, referring to Mauricio. “But the way he’s handling it is being completely a pro.”
Francisco Alvarez gave the Mets a scare Tuesday night when he was drilled in the left arm and departed the game, but the banged-up catcher returned to the starting lineup.
“It’s amazing,” Mendoza said of Alvarez, who managed to hit his ninth homer of the year in the 7th Wednesday night. “As soon as it happened [Tuesday] night, when I went out on the field I thought he was going to be done. He didn’t sound good from the dugout, and when you look up that was 102 [mph] that got him on the elbow.”
Mendoza said upon further evaluation, Alvarez was drilled more in the triceps than the elbow.
Luis Torrens was activated from the injured list, as Hayden Senger was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Torrens was dealing with a forearm contusion that kept him sidelined for 10 days.
Tylor Megill is still under evaluation as options are considered regarding his right elbow.
