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Marcelo Mayer

Breslow: Red Sox Looking For Front-Of-The-Rotation Starter, Middle-Of-The-Order Bat

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Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has already admitted that the Sox will be looking for starting pitching this offseason. He met with reporters at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas today, including Tim Healey of The Boston Globe, and provided a more specific target area.

“Because of the depth that we’ve built up over the last couple of years, we feel pretty good about just overall starting pitching, maybe No. 3-ish through No. 10-ish,” Breslow said. “And that’s not to take away from guys who are certainly capable of doing more, and more just to say I don’t think we’re going to spend a ton of time trying to add a No. 4, No. 5 starter.”

That’s a logical framing, considering the guys currently on the roster. Garrett Crochet gives the club a clear ace but then there’s a notable gap to the rest of the group. Brayan Bello is probably the #2 guy on paper right now, but he’s not really the kind of dominant force that one thinks of for that kind of role. He has a low-strikeout, high-grounder profile that should make him more of a solid back-end guy than a front-of-rotation killer.

Behind him, there are guys like Kutter Crawford, Cooper Criswell, Tanner Houck, Patrick Sandoval, Kyle Harrison, Payton Tolle, Connelly Early and others. Crawford has some intriguing numbers but his ERA has landed north of 4.00 in each of the past two seasons. Criswell is a low-strikeout swingman. Houck had Tommy John surgery in August and is going to miss most or all of 2026, meaning he might get non-tendered. Sandoval missed the entire 2025 season due to his own elbow surgery. Harrison, Tolle and Early are all intriguing young arms but they’re not established at the big league level.

Given the question marks in that group, it’s understandable that the club would be looking for a surefire upgrade. It also perhaps explains why the club didn’t make a qualifying offer to righty Lucas Giolito, who is now a free agent. Giolito posted a 3.41 ERA with the Sox this year but his 19.7% strikeout rate was subpar. He benefited from a .273 batting average on balls in play and 76.7% strand rate, which were both to the fortunate side. His 4.17 FIP and 4.65 SIERA suggested he deserved worse. He also finished the season on the injured list with an elbow issue. Bringing him back would have arguably been adding another No. 4 or No. 5 starter, as Breslow put it.

The Sox surely feel they can and need to do better than that. They were connected to Joe Ryan of the Twins before the deadline and perhaps they will revisit that pursuit. Ryan has a career 3.79 ERA with a 27.6% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. The Twins appear to be doing some kind of reset and only control Ryan for through 2027, so he could be attainable this winter. Other impact starters potentially available on the trade block include MacKenzie Gore, Freddy Peralta, Sandy Alcantara and others.

Acquiring any of those players would involve giving up talented prospects or big leaguers. The Sox had one of the top farm systems in baseball not so long ago but they traded some notable talent to the White Sox in the Crochet deal and have also graduated a bunch of their top prospects to the majors.

A simpler path would be to just sign a free agent. This winter’s market has notable names such as Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suárez, Michael King, Brandon Woodruff and others. Those players would cost more than the trade targets financially but wouldn’t require the Sox to give up prospects, though everyone in that group aside from Imai rejected a qualifying offer, meaning the Sox would be hurting their prospect pipeline in a different way.

Breslow also pointed to a plan on the offensive side of things. “There is just something about a bat in the middle of the lineup that forces another team to game plan against it that has a compounding effect on the rest of the roster,” Breslow said. “So we didn’t slug nearly as much as I think we can, or we will, and we’ll pursue opportunities to improve that.”

For the entire 2025 season, the Sox finished ninth in the majors in slugging percentage and tenth in isolated power. They’ve also lost some key bats in the past few months. They traded Rafael Devers to the Giants midseason. Alex Bregman opted out of his deal last week and became a free agent.

There are many potential options in free agency, though the Sox have a crowded outfield. The most logical spots to add would be the infield corners. Bregman’s departure leaves third base open. First base is a question mark with Triston Casas still injured. Nathaniel Lowe was holding that spot by the end of the 2025 season but he could be non-tendered this month.

Bringing back Bregman would be one straightforward solution, though it’s unclear if the Sox want to commit to him long-term. He is presumably hoping to land a longer deal this time around, after settling for a three-year, opt-out-laden pact last time. Besides Bregman, other corner infield free agents with big bats are Munetaka Murakami, Pete Alonso, Eugenio Suárez, Josh Naylor, Ryan O’Hearn and others. Willson Contreras and Christian Walker might be available on the trade market.

The free agent market also has Kyle Schwarber, who previously had a brief stint with the Sox that included some memorable time at first base. However, it may be hard to outbid the Phillies. There’s also the fact that Schwarber hits left-handed and the Boston lineup is already loaded with lefties.

“In a perfect world, I suppose we want to balance out the lineup a bit,” Breslow said on the subject. “That said, when you can hit the ball out of the park, it doesn’t really matter.” Murakami, Naylor and O’Hearn are also left-handed, whereas Alonso, Suárez, Contreras and Walker are righties.

It’s unclear what the Red Sox plan to spend on the 2026 squad. According to RosterResource, the club had a $207MM payroll in 2025 but a competitive balance tax number of $245MM. RR projects those numbers for $180MM and $216MM in 2026. Non-tendering Lowe and Houck would add more than $17MM of extra wiggle room.

One area of the roster where Breslow doesn’t plan to make big changes is the shortstop position. Per Christopher Smith of MassLive, Breslow said that Trevor Story will be the shortstop next year. Story recently decided not to opt-out of his contract. He is signed through 2027 with a club option for 2028.

After being injured for most of his first three seasons in Boston, Story had a nice return to form in 2025, despite a slow start. He hit .289/.334/.492 for a 124 wRC+ after the month of May. However, his season-long defensive numbers weren’t great. He was credited with minus-7 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-9 Outs Above Average. Despite that, Breslow and the Sox plan to keep Story out there next year.

There aren’t many great options for external upgrades. Bo Bichette is the top free agent but he’ll be expensive and his defense was worse than Story’s this year. Ha-Seong Kim is a solid defender but his offense wasn’t great in his first season after shoulder surgery. CJ Abrams is arguably the top trade candidate but is also not a great defender.

Internally, there’s an argument for trying Marcelo Mayer at short with Story bumped to second, though Mayer is still fairly unproven. He hit just .228/.272/.402 in his first 136 big league plate appearances. He missed more than a month due to a right wrist sprain.

Breslow also spoke about Mayer and said he needs to add strength. “[Getting stronger] will just help him manage the workload of a full season and just be able to withstand the demands of a full season, which is, frankly, something that he hasn’t been able to do,” Breslow said, per Healey. “And some of those have been just kind of these freak injuries, but others seem to maybe just be the accumulation of workload.” With Story returning to shortstop, Mayer could find playing time at second or third, depending on what moves the Sox make this winter.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

Red Sox Promote John Soteropulos to Assistant Hitting Coach

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The Red Sox have made John Soteropulos an assistant hitting coach, reports Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. Soteropulos had been a minor-league hitting coordinator since 2023. Before joining Boston’s organization, Soteropulos was a trainer at Driveline Baseball.

McCaffrey adds that Soteropulos worked with minor leaguers on boosting bat speed and exit velocity during his time as a hitting coordinator. That group included top prospects Kristian Campbell, Roman Anthony, and Marcelo Mayer. The trio debuted in 2025, with varying results.

Campbell made the team out of camp. He hit .301 through April, then fell off a cliff in May, batting .134. He continued to scuffle into June and found himself back in the minors. Mayer got the call at the end of May. He showed big power, though it came with strikeout issues. A wrist injury ended his season in July. Anthony had by far the most success of the bunch. He joined the big-league club a few weeks after Mayer. Anthony shook off a slow June to put up a massive July and August. He posted a .920 OPS and a 156 wRC+ from the beginning of July through the first week of September, when he injured his oblique. The strain would end his season.

Boston’s hitting coach is Pete Fatse. He joined the team as an assistant hitting coach in 2020, before being promoted to the head job in 2022. Dillon Lawson is also joining the staff as an assistant hitting coach. He served as hitting coach for the Yankees from 2022 until midway through 2023.

Add Soteropulos to the growing list of employees to make the jump from Driveline to big-league organizations. Driveline founder Kyle Boddy spent time with multiple teams, including as a consultant with the Red Sox. Eric Jagers, the company’s former Manager of Technical Development, is currently the Vice President of Pitching for the Mets. Sam Briend, who led Driveline’s pitching development program in Seattle, has been the Yankees’ Senior Director of Pitching since 2019.

Marcelo Mayer To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery

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Marcelo Mayer’s rookie season is over. The youngster has been on the shelf due to a wrist sprain since late July, and now manager Alex Cora has told reporters (including Christopher Smith of MassLive) that the infielder will undergo season-ending surgery on his ailing wrist. The surgery comes with a three-month recovery period, so he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training 2026.

Mayer, 22, entered the season as a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport. Selected fourth-overall by the Red Sox back in 2021, Mayer’s climb up the minor league ladder was stymied by injuries at times but he made both his Triple-A and big league debuts this year in spite of those obstacles. He hit a solid .271/.247/.472 in 43 games with Worcester this year but scuffled a bit in the majors, with a below-average .228/.272/.402 (79 wRC+) slash line and a 30.1% strikeout rate. He posted those numbers while splitting time between second and third base as well as shortstop at the big league level, with most of his work coming at the hot corner while Alex Bregman was on the injured list earlier this year.

Now that Mayer’s own 2025 campaign has come to an abrupt close due to his ailing wrist, it’s safe to say that the youngster didn’t have the rookie campaign he and the Red Sox were surely hoping for. That’s hardly a surprise, of course. While some top talents (such as teammate Roman Anthony) immediately take to the big leagues, it’s become increasingly common for even the very best prospects in the game to struggle mightily early in their careers due to the growing skill gap between Triple-A and the majors. For Mayer, getting some of those growing pains out of the way this year can only be a good thing, and will hopefully leave him better equipped to impact the big league club in 2026.

Fortunately for the Red Sox, they’ve been able to do just fine without Mayer producing at a high level. Bregman (156 wRC+) earned his third career All-Star nod and has been a game changer for Boston’s lineup at third base, while Trevor Story has bounced back from years of injury-marred campaigns to be a roughly average (98 wRC+) everyday shortstop. That’s solidified the left side of the club’s infield, and while the struggles of both Mayer and Kristian Campbell have made second base into a bit of a question mark, super utility man Ceddanne Rafaela has settled in at the keystone admirably amid a decent offensive season of his own (97 wRC+). Fellow youngster Kristian Campbell is also available to help chip in at second base, though he’s struggled after a hot start to the year and is currently getting regular reps at Triple-A.

Looking ahead to next year, the Red Sox figure to have an embarrassment of riches on the positional side of things. Bregman seems increasingly likely to opt out of his contract and return to free agency, but even setting him aside the returns of Mayer and Triston Casas should give the team a full lineup on paper with both Campbell and Rafaela capable of moving between the infield and outfield as needed. Should Bregman opt into his deal or wind up getting re-signed or replaced in free agency, the Red Sox figure to have more players than positions to play them at between their solid regulars and unproven young players like Mayer and Campbell. Players like Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida have frequently been the subject of trade rumors over the years due to this impending logjam, and while no deals have come together to this point that figures to remain a storyline surrounding the club headed into the offseason.

Red Sox Notes: Ryan, Alcantara, Prospects, Mayer, Slaten

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It was a relatively quiet trade deadline for the Red Sox, as Dustin May and Steven Matz were the only additions brought onto the roster for the pennant race.  However, the Sox had their eyes on plenty of bigger targets, including the team’s previously-reported pushes for the Twins’ Joe Ryan and the Marlins’ Sandy Alcantara.  WEEI’s Rob Bradford provides some details on those pursuits, saying that the Red Sox were willing to dig deep into the prospect depth to try and secure a deal.

“Anybody and everybody from the Sox’s minor league system” was available to some extent, Bradford writes.  Boston offered multiple packages that included two of Jhostynxon Garcia, Payton Tolle, and Franklin Arias as the headliners, with other names also involved from the top ten names on the club’s prospect rankings.  Since the Marlins and Twins didn’t seem to be prioritizing the addition of big league players, Red Sox officials saw Alcantara and Ryan as particularly good fits since Boston didn’t want to trade from its Major League roster.

A match didn’t happen, of course, and Bradford characterizes the talks with the Twins as somewhat one-sided on Boston’s part.  “Ultimately, Minnesota never acted, not informing the Red Sox chief decision-makers what level of offer would be needed to pull off….a move for a controllable ace starting pitcher,” Bradford writes.  USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that the Twins actually did want some MLB-level talent, as Minnesota wanted either Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu in a Ryan trade package.

As much as the Twins’ deadline fire sale was about shedding payroll, Duran or Abreu are arbitration-controlled through the 2028 season.  Obtaining a controllable starting outfielder would’ve been a sign that the Twins still want to return to competitive baseball as soon as 2026, and Thursday’s stunning set of moves wasn’t the first step of a rebuild process.  The club’s other deadline moves saw multiple players with MLB experience obtained, including such names as Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, and James Outman.

Turning to the injury front, Nightengale writes that Marcelo Mayer could be facing a season-ending wrist surgery, as the rookie infielder’s “sprained wrist is more serious than the Red Sox initially envisioned.”  Mayer was placed on the 10-day IL a little over a week ago and he recently received an injection in his wrist to help with the healing process.

Speaking with MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam and other reporters, Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow didn’t rule out the possibility of surgery.  For now, the hope is that the injection “gives him the best chance to be back on the field this season.  It’s a credit to him to try to do anything he can to get back.”

Mayer has hit .228/.272/.402 over his first 136 plate appearances in the Show.  While not a standout performance, it isn’t unexpected for a player to need time to adjust to the majors, plus it helps that a healthy Mayer would be a luxury at this point for a crowded Red Sox infield.  Now that Alex Bregman is back from the IL and Ceddanne Rafaela has moved into regular second-base duty, the team’s everyday lineup is pretty set, so Mayer might only be in line for a bench role if he is able to get back to action.

One player whose return seems a little more likely is Justin Slaten, though Breslow warned that “it’s hard to put a timetable on it given the topsy-turvy nature of the recovery to date.”  Slaten hasn’t pitched since May 28 due to right shoulder inflammation, though as the reliever told Bradford and company, he was also dealing with a nerve issue related to his transverse bone.

That problem has now been corrected, and Slaten’s restarted throwing progression hit another checkpoint with a bullpen session on Saturday.  The Sox will continue with a more gradual build-up and a minor league rehab assignment will surely be necessary given how much time Slaten has missed.  If all goes well, Slaten feels he’ll be back by September, and ready to continue building on what is becoming an impressive resume.  Slaten has a 3.09 ERA over 78 2/3 relief innings since making his MLB debut last season.

Red Sox Place Marcelo Mayer On IL; Ceddanne Rafaela To Play More Second Base

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The Red Sox announced today that infielder Marcelo Mayer has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to July 24th, with a right wrist sprain. Infielder David Hamilton has been recalled as the corresponding move.

At this point, the severity of Mayer’s sprain is still being determined. “We’re gathering information,” Álex Cora responded when asked if surgery was a consideration, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. “We’ll get more over the weekend, during the week. Whenever we get to the point to see what’s going to happen, we’ll let you know.”

Time will tell if Mayer is facing a brief absence or an extended one. While the Sox surely don’t want Mayer to miss any time, there is a silver lining of his absence, as it seems it will help out a bit with their outfield logjam. Cora told reporters, including Chris Cotillo of MassLive, that the club will frequently have Ceddanne Rafaela at second base. That will lead to a regular outfield alignment of Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran and Wilyer Abreu, with Masataka Yoshida as the designated hitter.

The outfield picture, and the position player group in general, has been cluttered for most of the season. The Sox signed Alex Bregman in the winter and put him at third base, moving Rafael Devers to the designated hitter spot. That left Yoshida stuck on the IL, even though he was healthy enough to hit. His shoulder hadn’t recovered enough from offseason surgery to throw, so he couldn’t play the field. Anthony was also blocked, since the club had Duran, Rafaela and Abreu in the outfield.

A lot has changed since earlier in the year. The relationship between the team and Devers soured, which led to him being traded to the Giants. That opened up the DH spot for Yoshida. Anthony came up while Abreu had an oblique strain and has quickly found big league success. Abreu eventually returned from the IL, which jammed things up a bit again. It left four outfielders and Yoshida jockeying for four lineup spots.

Rafaela has some middle infield experience but the Sox seemed reluctant to move him there, which was understandable since he’s actually an elite defensive center fielder, whereas Duran’s glovework may be better suited to left field. More recently, they have softened that stance, with Rafaela taking the keystone here and there with Duran in center.

It now seems that could be the regular alignment for as long as Mayer is out. Perhaps it’s not ideal defensively but it will get the Sox out of a situation where one of their key players is on the bench every night.

It’s also possible that the situation further decreases the chances of the Sox dealing an outfielder. Due to that logjam, it had been speculated that they might trade one of their outfielders in order to bolster another part of the roster. Duran’s name came up in rumors most often for this kind of scenario, though recent reporting has suggested the Sox weren’t particularly interested in such a plan. Perhaps Rafaela’s move to the infield makes it even less likely.

In another bit of Red Sox news, Cora also provided an ominous update on lefty Patrick Sandoval, per Cotillo and Healey. The southpaw has been progressing slower than expected and has been downgraded from bullpens to just playing catch. His return this year is now doubtful.

Sandoval underwent UCL surgery last June while with the Angels. They non-tendered him and sent him into free agency. The Sox signed him to a two-year, backloaded deal with an $18.25MM guarantee. He is making $5.5MM this year and will make $12.75MMM next year.  The Sox knew that they wouldn’t get anything out of Sandoval in the first half of 2025 but likely hoped for some kind of second-half return.

That now seems less and less likely. Even if he were to continue throwing bullpens soon, he would then have to ramp up to live batting practice and/or simulated games before going out on a rehab assignment. A rehab assignment usually is capped at 30 days for a pitcher but it’s common for guys recovering from UCL surgery to push that closer to two months. Given that there’s barely two months left in the season, it’s understandable why Cora would say that the clock is running out.

Photo courtesy of Bob DeChiara, Imagn Images

Red Sox Likely To Activate Alex Bregman Tomorrow

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It looks as if Alex Bregman will return to the Red Sox tomorrow. While the team has yet to announce the move, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the Sox are optioning second baseman David Hamilton to Triple-A Worcester. That’d open the necessary active roster spot to reinstate Bregman from the 10-day injured list.

Boston’s star third baseman has been out since May 24 due to a significant quad strain. The Sox promoted Marcelo Mayer when Bregman went on the shelf. The 22-year-old has been the primary third baseman. He has a modest .272 on-base percentage through his first 37 big league contests. Optioning Hamilton suggests the Sox intend to give Mayer more runway, likely moving him to second base in the process.

Bregman had been on a tear before the injury. He’s hitting .299/.385/.553 with 11 home runs across 226 plate appearances. It was shaping up to be his best season since his MVP runner-up campaign in 2019. Bregman has a career-high average exit velocity and hard contact rate. He rejoins the Sox as they’re riding a season-best seven-game win streak. They’re in an important four-game series against a direct competitor in the Rays. Boston erased a two-run deficit to claim the first game of that set tonight.

This run has pushed the Sox to 50-45 and into possession of the American League’s last Wild Card spot. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has maintained the front office sees the team as buyers despite the Rafael Devers trade. Unsurprisingly, a team official told Sean McAdam of MassLive yesterday that the club isn’t interested in trading Bregman regardless of his contract status.

Bregman is playing on a three-year deal that allows him to opt out after either of the first two seasons. He’s very likely to retest free agency next winter unless the sides hammer out an extension in the intervening few months. Bregman and agent Scott Boras have each said they’re open to the conversation, but the team unsurprisingly has more pressing priorities with the amateur draft and trade deadline approaching. WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported tonight that the sides have yet to open extension talks.

MLBTR Podcast: Bregman Injured, Marcelo Mayer Called Up, And Pirates Talk

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Should the Orioles trade Félix Bautista at the deadline? (29:35)
  • What are the chances the Giants could sign Kyle Tucker this offseason? (35:10)
  • Are the Cardinals for real? (40:35)
  • Does Kevin Alcántara of the Cubs get traded this summer? (48:10)
  • The Dodgers have 14 pitchers on the injured list. Does this reflect poorly on the club’s training and conditioning? (51:15)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Bob DeChiara, Imagn Images

Red Sox Promote Marcelo Mayer; Alex Bregman To IL With “Significant” Quad Strain

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4:27pm: The Red Sox have officially announced the selection of Mayer’s contract. Bregman was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right quad strain to create room for Mayer on the active roster, while Casas was placed on the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot. Cora told reporters (including Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic) this afternoon that Bregman’s injury is “significant” and compared it to a quad strain Bregman suffered in 2021 that ultimately caused him to miss around two months.

1:39pm: The Red Sox are promoting top infield prospect Marcelo Mayer, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Katie Morrison-O’Day of MassLive observed that Mayer was being congratulated by his teammates in the clubhouse at Triple-A Worcester. Her MassLive colleague Christopher Smith first reported that the former first-round pick is headed to Fenway Park.

The promotion comes as Alex Bregman navigates a right quad injury that seems likely to send him to the 10-day injured list. Bregman came out of yesterday’s blowout win over the Orioles in the fifth inning. He came up a bit gimpy after making an aggressive turn around the first base bag on a single off the Green Monster. He immediately exited in favor of Abraham Toro. The team is still awaiting MRI results from this morning. Manager Alex Cora told reporters (including WEEI’s Rob Bradford) that the star third baseman woke up with more soreness than he’d expected today.

Boston did not place Bregman on the IL before the first game of today’s doubleheader. There’s a good chance that’ll come between games tonight. They’ll also need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Mayer, but that can easily be achieved by transferring Triston Casas to the 60-day injured list.

Cora has already shot down the idea that Rafael Devers could see any third base time in Bregman’s absence. He’ll remain a full-time designated hitter. That means the 22-year-old Mayer should be in the lineup on a near everyday basis at third base. He obviously can’t be expected to replace the production they’re losing with Bregman’s absence. The two-time All-Star takes a .299/.385/.553 batting line to his likely stint on the injured list.

Mayer has very little experience at the hot corner. He started one game there in Double-A in each of the 2023 and ’24 seasons. He’s added four appearances in Triple-A this year. Mayer has taken the vast majority of his professional reps as a shortstop. He’d moved more frequently to second base over the past few days. That wasn’t because of any question about whether he can hold up at shortstop. It was instead in preparation for what seemed to be his best path to an MLB debut — playing second base with Kristian Campbell preparing to slide to first base after the Casas injury.

While there may be some growing pains given Mayer’s lack of experience at the hot corner, it’s common for shortstops to move to other infield positions. He has the plus arm for the position and is generally regarded as a sure-handed infielder. At 6’3″, Mayer is on the bigger side for a shortstop. His range, while adequate, has never been the strongest point of his defensive profile. That’s less of a concern at third base.

Mayer certainly brings a higher offensive ceiling than the utility options (Toro and David Hamilton) who may otherwise have replaced Bregman. The fourth overall pick in 2021, Mayer has been a feature on top prospect lists throughout his professional career. The left-handed hitter has moved a little more slowly than anticipated, largely because of injuries to his left shoulder and right wrist that affected him in 2022-23. Scouts have remained enamored with his power, polished strike zone discipline and overall natural athleticism.

That has been on display over the past two minor league seasons. Mayer hit .307/.370/.480 in Double-A a year ago. He’s out to a solid .271/.347/.471 slash with nine homers in 43 games during his first Triple-A action. He’s drawing walks at a strong 10.4% clip compared to a 19.7% strikeout rate that matches last year’s mark for the lowest of his career.

While the Bregman injury is the immediate impetus for Mayer’s promotion, there should be opportunity to stick past Bregman’s return if he performs well. The Sox may feel comfortable using Campbell at first base by that point, potentially opening second base. Mayer could also eventually supplant Trevor Story as the starting shortstop. Story began the season with a power barrage but has done almost nothing offensively for the better part of six weeks. He’s hitting .159 with one home run and 38 strikeouts in 122 plate appearances since his two-homer game on April 18.

Mayer will not reach a full year of service time unless he triggers the Prospect Promotion Inventive by finishing in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting. The Sox would not receive an extra draft choice under the PPI because they did not carry Mayer on the big league roster for at least 172 days. He would be on track to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player during the 2027-28 offseason if he’s in big leagues for good, though future optional assignments could certainly change that timeline.

Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.

Kristian Campbell Taking Drills At First Base

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Kristian Campbell started doing first base drills before the Red Sox’s series opener against the Braves. Boston has been patching things together at the position since Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago.

“Looking for options,” manager Alex Cora said about Campbell’s pregame work (link via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). “Obviously, we’re getting Romy (Gonzalez) probably by the end of the week or early next week. But just introducing (Campbell) to first base and seeing how it looks. … It can take 10 days, 15 days, a month, two months, but we started the process.”

Gonzalez, a utility infielder, got first crack at the position after the Casas injury. He was sidelined by a quad contusion a week later. As Cora noted, the Sox expect he’ll be back after a near minimal stint. Abraham Toro and Nick Sogard, each of whom were in Triple-A at the beginning of the month, are splitting first base until Gonzalez returns.

The Sox approached Rafael Devers about taking first base reps. He indicated he wasn’t willing to do so, publicly expressing frustration with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow after the Sox moved him off third base to designated hitter at the beginning of the season. Devers has not played a single defensive inning all year.

Campbell has no collegiate or professional experience as a first baseman. He has played mostly second but also has experience at both left side infield positions and all three outfield spots. Campbell has started 34 games at the keystone during his rookie season. He has added 50 outfield innings — 38 in center and 12 in left. While it’s not worth placing much stock in six weeks of defensive metrics, Campbell has not graded well at second. Statcast has him two runs below average, while Defensive Runs Saved has graded him six runs below par. That’s tied with Jake Cronenworth for second-worst at the position (above Washington’s Luis García Jr.).

It doesn’t seem the Sox are planning an imminent first base move for Campbell. They may be reluctant to kick a 22-year-old top prospect down the defensive spectrum as a short-term response to an injury. There’s little harm in seeing how Campbell takes to pregame work, though, and the Sox have another top middle infield prospect looming. Marcelo Mayer is hitting .274 with eight homers at Triple-A Worcester. He could eventually push the scuffling Trevor Story for playing time at shortstop. If Campbell were to move to first, one of Mayer or Story could slide to second base.

Triston Casas Likely To Miss Entire 2025 Season Due To Knee Surgery

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The Red Sox announced this morning that they have placed first baseman Triston Casas on the 10-day injured list with a ruptured left patellar tendon. He suffered the injury during last night’s game. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow says that Casas will have surgery and they don’t expect him back this year, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.

To replace Casas on the active roster, the team has selected Abraham Toro’s contract from Triple-A Worcester. Boston had an open spot on the 40-man, so no further corresponding transaction was necessary. In an additional roster move, the Red Sox reinstated Brennan Bernardino from the bereavement list and optioned Luis Guerrero to Triple-A.

The Casas news is awful but unsurprising. He suffered an obvious injury last night when he hit the first base bag awkwardly while trying to beat out a grounder. He was down on the ground in clear pain for a long time and eventually was taken off the field on a stretcher. It seemed likely that he would miss an extended period of time and that is now confirmed. He hasn’t yet been moved to the 60-day IL but that will happen whenever the Sox need a 40-man spot.

The Sox will have to figure out what to do about replacing Casas at first base. Breslow says that all options are on the table and he didn’t rule out Rafael Devers taking over, though outfield prospect Roman Anthony or infield prospect Marcelo Mayer are unlikely to be moved to first.

Devers is currently the full-time designated hitter after getting bumped off third base by Alex Bregman. Moving him into first base and opening the DH spot would help the club with some roster crunches elsewhere.

Anthony and Mayer are two of the best prospects in baseball, but both are currently in Triple-A and somewhat blocked on the big league roster. The Sox currently have an outfield mix consisting of Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and Rob Refsnyder. The infield has Bregman, Trevor Story and Kristian Campbell at third base, shortstop and second base respectively. Outfielder/designated hitter Masataka Yoshida could get into the mix as well, though he has been battling ongoing shoulder problems and his return timeline is unclear.

With Devers in the DH spot, it’s a bit of a crowded picture. If he were to take over at first base, that would open things up and allow various players to rotate through the DH spot. Devers has no professional experience at first but plenty of subpar third basemen have made the move across the diamond over the years. While Breslow seemed to leave the door open to the idea, manager Alex Cora downplayed the possibility. “From my end, right now, no…. he’s my DH,” Cora said, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe.

For now, it seems like utility infielder Romy González will be the first attempt. Cora tells Speier that this is an opportunity for González “to go out and perform.” He is the only Boston player apart from Casas to have played first base this year. He’s having a decent season so far, with a .279/.340/.419 batting line and 113 wRC+. However, that comes with no home runs and a .364 batting average on balls in play. In his 502 career plate appearances, he has a .246/.277/.390 line and 81 wRC+.

That career production would be less than ideal production from first base, which is generally a bat-first position, but the Sox will give it a try for now. Perhaps they will explore some external options in the coming weeks, looking to make a trade or grab another player off waivers. Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe says that Breslow is indeed looking at the trade market.

González had previously been in a multi-positional role, having also played some second and third base this year. In his career, he has played shortstop and the outfield as well. With him set to become the club’s regular first baseman for now, Toro has been added to add some defensive versatility to the bench.

Toro, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason. He has been performing well in Triple-A so far this year, with a .310/.403/.480 line, though a .392 BABIP is doing him some favors. In his big league career, he has played the three non-shortstop infield positions and the outfield corners. He has always hit well in Triple-A but has a .220/.285/.353 line and 82 wRC+ in 1,298 big league plate appearances.

Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images

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