Ronny Mauricio received 23 plate appearances after Aug. 16, a 39-game stretch in which the last man on the Mets bench was not used and yet kept around.
If the Mets had sent him down to Triple-A Syracuse, they would have burned his final minor league option, thus becoming forced to squeeze him onto the major league roster all of next season or risk losing him on waivers or through trade.
“We preserved the last option,” David Stearns said last week. “He now has the ability to go through if he needs it, the entirety of a developmental year, and get some real at-bats under him.”
Major league teams crave those minor league options because they allow flexibility with the roster and enable young players to develop — in their own organizations — rather than sitting on a big-league bench. If Mauricio struggles at the major league level next year, he can be sent to Syracuse and receive everyday at-bats. If his minor league options were extinguished, a lengthy struggle likely would be followed by a DFA, another team then able to give Mauricio a shot to stick in the majors.