The Boston Red Sox in 2025 are a tale of two infields. But rookie Marcelo Mayer was supposed to go a long way toward solving the infield issues, and for 44 games, the slick-fielding 2021 fourth-overall draft pick did just that.
But after an announcement by manager Alex Cora on Sunday, it is now clear that Mayer won’t be around to patch up Boston’s infield gaps anymore this season.
Left Side of Red Sox Infield is Solid
On the left side of the infield, Boston invested $55 million this year alone on Gold Glover Alex Bregman at third base, and two-time All-Star Trevor Story at short.
On the right side, that’s been a different story. The original plan was for 2018 first-round draft pick Triston Casas to finally get a full, healthy season at first base, and rookie Kristian Campbell, the 2024 MLB Pipeline Minor League Breakout Player of the Year, at second.
Casas, Campbell Started Season on Right Side of IF
But Casas was lost for the season on May 2 with a torn patellar tendon. Meanwhile, after a promising month of April went into a prolonged slump and was sent back to Triple-A Worcester on June 19.
Campbell has yet to be recalled and earlier this week, manager Alex Cora said “there’s still work to do” before the 23-year-old gets another shot in the big leagues.
Mayer, the top-rated player in the 2021 draft who somehow fell to the No. 4 position where the Red Sox grabbed him — making Mayer their highest draft pick since 1967 — was called up for his MLB debut on May 24.
Though at 6-foot-3 and 188 pounds Mayer is somewhat bigger than the average middle infielder, he filled in at third — where his size would indicate should be he natural position — short and second base seemingly without a flaw while pounding out 29 hits including four home runs in 127 at-bats.
But in a July 23 contest against the Phillies in Philadelphia, Mayer removed himself from the game after feeling what he described as “a tight grab” in his right wrist after swinging the bat.
The injury did not seem overly concerning at the time, but it should have been. Now, for the third straight time in his five-year professional career, Mayer’s season will end early due to injury.
Cora Makes Disappointing Announcement
Cora announced Sunday that Mayer will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) in his right wrist.
According to the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, the TFCC is “an important structure in the wrist … made of tough fibrous tissue and cartilage. This tissue supports the joints between the end of the forearm bones (radius and ulna), adding to their stability. The TFCC also helps connect the forearm with the small bones in the ulnar side (‘pinkie finger’ side) of the wrist.”
Mayer’s 2023 season with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs was cut short by “shoulder inflammation,” and his 2024 campaign, also with Portland, ended on August 1 due to a lumbar strain.
Anti-Inflammatory Shot Did Nothing
The No. 15 overall prospect in baseball in 2024, Mayer also missed time in 2022 with a wrist injury. The current injury appears to be a reaggravation of the earlier wrist ailment.
The 22-year-old received an anti-inflammatory injection on August 2 in hopes that it would reduce the discomfort enough to allow him to get back in the lineup. But the shot “didn’t really do much,” Mayer said, explaining that he had “a few good days and then kind of hit a wall.”
Red Sox Announce Fateful Decision on Future of 6-Foot-3, 188-Pound Infielder