Top prospect Marcelo Mayer lands on the Triple-A injured list, delaying his WooSox debut

Image courtesy of The Boston Globe

Marcelo Mayer will have to wait a little longer before making his Triple-A debut.

The Red Sox top shortstop prospect will land on the WooSox’ 7-day injured list as he continues to deal with hip and glute soreness, as first reported by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.

Mayer did not make the trip with his new teammates to Norfolk as they embarked on a six-game series with the Tides.

The 21-year-old initially injured himself on July 30 with what the Portland Sea Dogs described as hip soreness. Three weeks later, he is back on the injured list, with no immediate timeframe as to when he will see game action.

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The move to place Mayer on the injured list is mainly driven to create a roster spot. The Red Sox recently promoted fast-rising prospect Kristian Campbell from Double-A, and he will replace Mayer in the lineup and at shortstop in the short term. Campbell is likely to see time at second base when Vaughn Grissom either sits or is the team’s designated hitter, while also potentially seeing time in the outfield.

If Mayer misses extended time or even the remainder of the regular season, this will be the second year in a row that the shortstop will see his season end due to injury. Mayer missed the final six weeks of the 2023 season with a left shoulder impingement.

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The Calif. native hit .307/.370/.480 with 8 homers and 28 doubles in 77 games with Portland and saw a doctor in Boston on Aug. 12. Mayer sounded optimistic during his first week with the WooSox, telling reporters that he was “feeling much better.”

“My lower back and upper glute area was just bothering me a little bit,” said Mayer. “I missed a week in Somerset due to some pec soreness, and then my back flared up on me.

“So we’ve kind of just been cautious with it. Don’t want to play when my back is hurt, and then I end up getting more hurt then I need to, so we’ve just been taking it pretty slow, but I feel good.”

WooSox manager Chad Tracy told team reporters last week that the club was waiting for Mayer to be at 100% before penciling him into the lineup.

"He's gonna play eventually, but we're gonna make sure we try to do it the right way and not put him out there when he's got soreness or discomfort. Maybe tomorrow, but it might be next week in Norfolk. We're just gonna do it the right way,” said Tracy.

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Mayer felt he was close mid-week last week after taking batting practice on the field and in the cage, running the bases, and continuing his stretching program with team trainers.

“I’m getting close,” Mayer told Tommy Cassell of the Worcester T&G on Wednesday. “That’s as best as I’ve felt since (I last played). So, yeah, I’m excited.” 

With his debut delayed, there is hope it will be temporary and the young star can make his debut when the WooSox return to Polar Park next week.