New York Mets infielder Ronny Mauricio fractured his left thumb Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels, forcing the injury-plagued club to use Bo Bichette at shortstop, at least part time.
Mauricio, who has been filling in at shortstop for injured All-Star Francisco Lindor, suffered the injury on a headfirst slide into first base in the seventh inning of Saturday's 4-3 loss. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Mauricio could be out up to two months, with the club set to get more details on the injury.
"He's going to get a CT scan [Monday], but regardless of the severity, what they're saying is it is going to be six to eight weeks," Mendoza said before Sunday's series finale against the Angels.
The last-place Mets placed Mauricio on the 10-day injured list Sunday and promoted infielder Vidal Brujan from Triple-A Syracuse. Infielder Eric Wagaman was designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move.
Mendoza said he will use the right-handed-hitting Bichette and the switch-hitting Brujan interchangeably at shortstop moving forward. On Sunday, Bichette went 2-for-5, batting out of the leadoff spot, in a 5-1 win over Los Angeles to close out the series. He also committed his third error of the season.
"It will be matchup-based when I want to get lefties in there and when I want righties and play some of the other guys around the field, whether it's Tyrone [Taylor] or [Mark] Vientos against right-handed pitching," Mendoza said before the win. "But when it's a tough matchup right-on-right, I also want to get in some of the lefties, [including] Brujan.
"So, fluid day-to-day, and we'll go from there."
Primarily a shortstop during his seven years with the Toronto Blue Jays, Bichette shifted to third base this season after signing with the Mets, who already had a two-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop in Lindor. Bichette has played 33 games -- 30 at third base -- in his first season with the Mets.
"Whatever the team needs," Bichette told reporters Saturday night, when asked about possibly moving back to shortstop.
Mauricio, 25, is batting .209 (6-for-29) with one home run in nine games this season. The former top prospect will join a growing list of Mets players on the IL, including Lindor, Luis Robert Jr., Jorge Polanco and Kodai Senga.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.