Recently-promoted prospect Ronny Mauricio is going to be playing some third base and left field for the Mets in the near future, manager Buck Showalter indicated on Monday.

As detailed in an article by Joe Pantorno of AMNY, Showalter asked reporters where they would play Mauricio. When they mentioned that they haven’t seen him play third or left in the majors yet, Showalter said, “Oh, you will.”

Mauricio is a natural shortstop and has played the vast majority of his minor league innings there. In his first three games with the big league club, he’s only played second base with Francisco Lindor at short. His talents translate well to the other side of the second base bag, with smooth and fluid motions.

But before coming up, Mauricio was working on expanding his positional versatility in Triple-A Syracuse. He played mostly second base (487 1/3 innings), but he also played nearly as many innings in left field (214 1/3) as at shortstop (220 1/3). He even played 17 innings at third base. Before this season, he’d only played short in the minors.

“I’m starting to feel more comfortable there,” Mauricio said after his first three MLB games at second base. “There’s a lot of work to do to get fully accustomed to playing second base. But so far, so good, and I’m looking forward to it.”

With the Mets being out of the race and Mauricio making a strong first impression, they’re certainly going to find ways to keep him in the lineup. He’s 5-for-11 in his career as a big leaguer thus far. He opened eyes in his very first plate appearance, smashing a double 117.3 mph off the bat, which is the hardest hit for a Met this year.

“It’s been great,” Mauricio said. “Since the very moment they called me to tell me that I would be up here, I said, ‘You know what? Let’s go out there. Let’s go have fun because these first moments don’t happen twice.'”

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Mauricio’s ability to play other positions should prove valuable, especially in the years to come with Lindor manning short. The biggest concern is whether his plate discipline will be strong enough to keep him in the lineup. His career OBP in the minors is just .311 and was only .296 in Double-A Binghamton last year.

This year, he bumped that number up to .346 in Syracuse. He still had an imperfect strikeout-to-walk ratio, with 97 punchouts compared to 35 walks. That’s improved from last year, though, when he struck out 125 times and only drew 24 walks. Even in his successful stint in the majors thus far, he’s yet to draw a walk.

The early signs are encouraging, though, and he’s trending in the right direction in all facets of the game, whether it’s one of his weaknesses or one of his strengths. The main development has been the power he’s added over the last few years; he’s really filled into his wiry frame and built up some serious strength. He’s still relatively skinny and agile, though, which should benefit his work in the field. And he’s still only 22 years old.

Mauricio should give Mets fans a reason to watch the team down the stretch, watching how his bat adjusts to the grind of the major league level and how swiftly he can adapt to any new positions Showalter slots him in.