As recently as the 2024 season, slick fielding infielder Marcelo Mayer was listed as the No. 1 overall prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization, by the MLB Pipeline rankings. Mayer was Boston’s 2021 first-round draft pick, taken at No. 4 overall â the highest draft pick for the Red Sox since 1967.
The Red Sox owned the No. 3 overall pick in that draft, 54 years before Mayer’s selection, and used it on a high school pitcher from Idaho named Mike Garman.
Garman went on to appear in a mere 20 games for the Red Sox, bouncing between the minor leagues and Fenway Park through five seasons before the club traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Red Sox Place Mayer on Injured List
Needless to say, the Red Sox are expecting much more from Mayer â as they were from Garman five decades ago. But just as injuries derailed Garman’s career, health issues have plagued Mayer throughout his professional career in the Red Sox organization.
On Friday, the Red Sox announced that the 22-year-old, after appearing in only 44 Major League games, is headed to the 10-day injured list.
Rookie Seen With Right Wrist in Brace
Mayer’s injury was diagnosed as a right wrist sprain. The Red Sox did not announce any timeline for Mayer’s return, but said that his IL stint would be retroactive to July 24. That’s the day after Mayer pulled himself from a game against the Phillies at Citizen’s Bank Park with what the team at the time described as “wrist discomfort.”
Mayer was spotted wearing a brace on his wrist after that game, and was seen in on online post Friday from KDR MedSpa in Boston, wearing a different brace on the wrist.
Mayer Calls Timing of Wrist Injury ‘Brutal’
Mayer said after Wednesday’s game that he felt “a tight grab” in the wrist after taking a swing during a fifth-inning at-bat, later describing himself as “in pain,” and saying, âI knew I really couldnât do anything after that, so I just called it,â according to Boston Globe reporter Tim Healey.
On Friday, according to Healey, Mayer said that he was continuing to speak with medical professionals about the wrist. He called the timing of his latest injury “brutal” and, coming after his lengthy list of previous injuries, “super annoying,” Healey reported.
Injured Wrist is Same One Hurt in 2022
Mayer also missed time with a right wrist injury in 2022, his first full professional season when he was playing at the Single-A level in the Red Sox farm system. Mayer said, according to Healey, that he could not compare the previous wrist injury to his current issue because the first one was “so long ago.”
But the Chula Vista, California, native has been hit with other health issues since then. Both his 2023 and 2024 seasons were cut short by injuries. In 2023, the problem was his shoulder. In 2024, a strain to the lumbar region of his back ended his first stint at the Triple-A level early.
Mayer’s IL trip comes on the day that the Red Sox open a three-game series at Fenway facing the current National League West-leading â and reigning World Series champion â Los Angeles Dodgers.
Infielder David Hamilton who was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on July 11 has been recalled just two weeks later to take Mayer’s roster spot. But Hamilton was not listed in the Red Sox starting lineup for Friday’s series-opening game.
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