The Boston Red Sox received devastating news earlier this week. After hustling to first base, slugger Triston Casas landed awkwardly and immediately fell to the ground in obvious pain. As it turned out, he ruptured a tendon in his left knee. This injury will cause him to miss the rest of the season for Boston. A huge blow for a contending team.
While the first thought in everyone’s mind is concern for Casas, the second one involves a dilemma for Boston. Who will replace Casas at first base for the remainder of the season?
Could a top prospect get a call-up?
One MLB Insider thinks the Red Sox could stick with an in-house option to replace Casas at first.
In a piece written by ESPN’s Buster Olney, he highlighted top prospect Marcelo Mayer as a top candidate to do so.
“His future with the Red Sox is as a middle infielder, but there is precedent in Boston’s history of using a star prospect as a stop-gap solution,” said Olney. “In 2013, the Red Sox needed a third baseman and promoted shortstop Xander Bogaerts to play the spot, and they went on to win the World Series. For Mayer to move from shortstop to first base would be a more dramatic change, but one staffer believes he could do this with relative ease.”
Marcelo, a shortstop by trade, has been dominant for Triple-A Worcester this season. In 30 games, the former fourth overall pick is slashing .273/.328/.504 for a .832 OPS. While this is his first season in Triple-A, Mayer looks like he is already beyond this level of competition and ready for a promotion.
The 22-year-old is still young, but he has lived up to his massive prospect pedigree thus far. Fans in Boston have been eagerly awaiting his arrival in the big leagues. With the recent blow to their lineup, now seems as good a time as any.
While the switch from shortstop to first base would be a drastic one, Mayer likely has the athleticism and defensive prowess to make it work. The 6’3, 190-pound prospect is plenty big enough to hold it down. He likely wouldn’t need to play Gold Glove defense to justify his switch, either.
His biggest contributions to the Red Sox would be with his bat, which has no indications of slowing down anytime soon. He has always been regarded as a plus bat, and his numbers in the minor leagues back that up.
What about Rafael Devers?
While some people’s first thought would be to slide Devers from DH to first, that may not be a possibility. For starters, he lamented becoming a full-time DH upon the arrival of Alex Bregman. He got off to a horrid start at the plate, and the change may have been the main culprit.
He has since bounced back and found his groove as a DH, as he is now slashing .246/.370/.430 for a .800 OPS. Another big move would not be ideal for the 28-year-old.
When speaking to reporters, Red Sox manager Alex Cora emphasized his reluctance to remove Devers from the DH spot.
“So I’m not saying we’ll never have that conversation, but I think for now, where we’re at, I like Raffy as a DH.”
It seems like the Red Sox may take a look at one of their top prospects to fill the massive void left by Casas.
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