Red Sox
Marcelo Mayer has all of the tools to develop into a future franchise shortstop for the Red Sox.
However, Boston's top talent is increasingly developing a fame for being stricken by bad luck with injuries.
Mayer- is taken into account the number 5 young baseball talent by MLB Pipeline and No. 2 prospect by Keith Law of The Athletic – is “likely” out for the 2024 season because of a lingering lower back strain.
The talented infielder was called as much as Triple-A Worcester earlier this month together with other top talents similar to Kyle Teel and Roman Anthony, but didn’t make a single batting appearance there because of his injury.
His last appearance in a game with Portland was on July 30. He finished the 2024 season with a batting average of .307/.370/.480, 28 doubles, eight home runs and 38 RBI in 77 games in Double-A.
Mayer's strong numbers with Portland were encouraging this summer, but that is the second consecutive yr that the fourth overall pick within the 2021 draft has seen his season ended prematurely because of injuries.
Mayer's 2023 season was shortened because of a lingering shoulder issue that he continued to cope with despite playing. As a result, Mayer only played in 78 total games in 2023 – including a lackluster 43-game series in Portland wherein he posted only a .189 batting average with six home runs and 20 RBIs.
Although Mayer has great potential as a flexible player in the key leagues, his repeated injuries which have ended his season are a cause for concern – Alex Cora admitted this on Monday.
“I mean, obviously not ideal,” Cora said of Mayer's recent injury. in accordance with Ian Browne of MLB. “He had a good season, did a good job. But honestly, I didn't know. I'll talk to (player development) and see what happens. But getting him right is the most important thing.”
“There's a lot of potential there. There are things we need to work on. Honestly, the injuries on my part are obviously a concern. We just need to make sure we can keep him healthy.”
The Red Sox have several other promising talents who could make it to Fenway Park next season, including Teel, Anthony and Kristian Campbell.
However, Mayer's potential rise to the MLB could possibly be hampered if he continues to spend prolonged periods on the injured list each summer.
Even though Mayer’s consecutive seasons have now ended prematurely, Brian Abraham, the Red Sox’s director of player development, emphasized within the NESN podcast “310 to Left” on Tuesday that the organization will not be concerned about recurring injury problems amongst its top talent.
“With Marcelo, the initial feeling was that it was day to day,” Abraham told Tom Caron and Alex Speier on the podcast. “He had a slight lumbar issue, but I had a feeling he was going to be OK. I think given how he was feeling and how much work was involved, we got to a point where he really wasn't progressing anymore and we had to dig a little deeper. I did an MRI and that's where we learned more about the lumbar strain.
“It's actually unlucky for Marcelo, but the excellent news is that we all know what the issue is. We know why he wasn't feeling well, whether it was running the bases, doing more aggressive batting practice or fielding. He's now in Fort Myers. He'll proceed his treatment there.
“We expect a full recovery. It's just going to take a little time now that the season is over. It's certainly frustrating for him and for us. But at the end of the day, we're glad we know what the problem is. We have a great team in Fort Myers taking care of him and I know he's really excited to work on getting through this and being ready for the offseason and next year.”
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