The Boston Red Sox (67-63) have received more bad news when it comes to their number one prospect. After missing almost a month with an injury, the Red Sox announced today that top prospect Marcelo Mayer’s season is officially over due to a lumbar strain.
Mayer, 21, has not participated in a game since July 30th. He batted .307/.370/.480 this season, all with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, with 36 extra-base hits, 38 RBI, and 13 stolen bases across 300 at-bats in 77 games.
The injury bug has not been kind to Mayer in his young professional career. Mayer was limited to just 91 games in 2022, and just 78 games in 2023. Now, in 2024, he will be limited to just 77 games.
Red Sox Manager Alex Cora had this to say about the club’s top prospect:
“He had a good season… There’s a lot of potential there. Obviously, there’s a lot of other things we have to work on. The injuries, obviously, from my end, you know, concerning, to be honest with you, we just got to make sure we keep him healthy.”
The Red Sox promoted Mayer to Triple-A on August 11th, alongside the other two prospects comprising their top three, but Mayer has not seen the field for the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox and will not do so until 2025.
Mayer was drafted fourth overall by the Red Sox in the 2021 MLB Draft. The middle infielder has played in 272 games across four levels of MiLB and has batted a combined .274/.362/.465 with 123 extra-base hits, 162 RBI, and 46 stolen bases across 1,055 at-bats.
