The Mets made another round of major league spring training roster cuts, optioning infielder Ronny Mauricio and right-handed pitcher Joey Gerber to Triple-A Syracuse and reassigning right-handed pitcher Mike Baumann and left-handed pitcher Brandon Waddell to minor league camp. None of those names are particularly surprising, as Francisco Lindor’s return to the field has put him on track to be the Mets’ Opening Day shortstop.
Mauricio made 184 plate appearances at the major league level last year, but he hit just .226/.293/.369 with an 88 wRC+ and was worth 0.7 fWAR in that time. He began last season in St. Lucie as he returned from a knee injury that cost him the entire 2024 season and quickly worked his way up to Binghamton and Syracuse during his rehab process. In his very brief stop in Triple-A, he tore the cover off the ball, hitting .515/.564/.818 in 39 plate appearances.
That earned Mauricio a spot with the Mets, but he didn’t thrive with inconsistent playing time over the remainder of the season. It seems best for both the player and the organization that he’ll get to play every day to begin the 2026 campaign.
Gerber spent the 2025 season with the Rays, and the vast majority of his innings came in Triple-A. The 28-year-old had a 6.09 ERA and a 4.94 FIP at that level, though he fared better in a very small sample of major league innings.
Baumann is attempting to return to the big leagues after pitching for five different major league teams in 2024 and throwing 15.0 innings last year in Japan. He has a career 4.95 ERA and a 4.59 FIP in 167.1 MLB innings.
And last but not least, Waddell made eleven appearances for the Mets last year and fared better in his time in the big leagues than in the majority of his season in Syracuse. The 31-year-old had a 3.45 ERA and a 4.54 FIP in 31.1 innings with the Mets last year as he returned from a three-year stint pitching in Korea.
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