Marcelo Mayer

Mayer will make his San Francisco debut during Monday’s series opener against the Twins at Oracle Park. The 23-year-old former top prospect, who came over from the Red Sox in the Erik Miller swap at the trade deadline last month, has been out nursing forearm and foot injuries since late June. He’s talented enough to be an impactful fantasy contributor at some point in the future, but it simply hasn’t happened at this early juncture of his career. He could benefit exponentially from the change of scenery, but is unlikely to offer much in the final week of the regular season.

It’s an injury that also bothered him while Mayer was doing his rehab at Triple-A Sacramento and isn’t expected to keep him shelved for long. He’ll rest for the remainder of the weekend before being evaluated when the Giants return home next week.

Mayer, out since late June with a stress reaction in his forearm, is 5-for-14 with a homer in three games since joining the River Cats. They might wait a few more days, but the Giants will likely activate him this week and install him as their starting second baseman.

Mayer was viewed as one of Boston’s potential future franchise cornerstones just a few years previously. He simply never found his footing at the highest level despite possessing impressive raw talent and a sweet-looking left-handed swing. The 23-year-old former fourth overall selection from the 2021 draft has struggled to stay healthy at the highest level and the Red Sox ultimately decided to move on, using him as a trade chip to fortify their bullpen. The meteoric rise of Franklin Arias, who has emerged as the club’s potential shortstop of the future, seemingly sealed Mayer’s fate here. It’s a decent move for his long-term future as he’ll get a change of scenery and plenty of opportunities to emerge as a key contributor in San Francisco.

The Red Sox sure are burning a lot of talent here. Miller is quite good and under control for three years after this one, but giving up a long-term regular for a left-handed reliever is quite a loss of value. Mayer is currently on the shelf with an arm injury and might not be much of a factor this year, but he should be the Giants’ second baseman next year and he remains very much an option at short if the club could find a taker for Willy Adames. Miller’s fantasy value disappears with the deal, since he won’t be a candidate for saves in Boston. With the Giants shedding both he and Caleb Kilian, Dylan Smith is probably their favorite for saves at the moment.

Mayer landed on the injured list with a stress reaction in his left forearm. He was allegedly playing through the injury for two months, which may have impacted his performance on the field. It may just be a couple of weeks before Mayer could begin a rehab assignment, but his role in Boston for the remainder of the season remains to be seen. The team has been thriving, and they have multiple options in the infield with Romy Gonzalez back and Anthony Seigler and Tsung-Che Cheng providing value. The Red Sox could opt to keep Mayer in Triple-A to get consistent at-bats until rosters expand in September.

Mayer has been battling the forearm issue for the past two months according to interim manager Chad Tracy and it finally got to the point where they had to shut him down. No word yet on how long he’ll be sidelined for, but they’ll take it “week to week”. Tsung-Che Cheng was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take his place on the club’s active roster.

Mayer sat out on Thursday due to illness and wasn’t feeling well during the day on Friday, but he felt much better as game time approached and seemingly was able to talk his way into the lineup. He’ll start at shortstop and bat seventh with Isiah Kiner-Falefa heading back to the bench.

It doesn’t sound like Mayer is going to require a trip to the injured list, but he’s still feeling a bit under the weather on Friday. Andruw Monasterio will start at second base and bat ninth for the Red Sox while Isiah Kiner-Falefa slides over to cover shortstop once again.

Mayer had started every game since returning from his neck injury on Friday, hitting .133/.316/.133 over that span. He’s not done enough to have a set spot in mixed leagues. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is starting at shortstop while Andruw Monasterio handles second base versus Blue Jays RHP Trey Yesavage.

Mayer returned to Boston’s lineup after sitting out Wednesday’s series finale against Tampa Bay with neck and back spasms. The 23-year-old was just starting to show some real signs of life with a couple extra-base hits, including a home run, earlier this week. He’ll continue to bat near the bottom of the Red Sox’ lineup until further notice.

Mayer was held out of action on Wednesday due to neck and back spasms, but he appears to be doing much better after Thursday’s off-day. He’ll start at shortstop and bat eighth against Rangers’ right-hander Jack Leiter on Friday evening at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox don’t seem worried about him needing an IL stint, but we have seen many players head to the injured list after a battle with back spasms. It would be unfortunate for Mayer, who has battled multiple injuries over his brief MLB career and was slashing .286/.323/.429 with one home run and six RBI over his last six games. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will start at shortstop and bat eighth with Andruw Monasterio at second base and hitting ninth.

Mayer took lefty Ian Seymour deep in the third inning for his third big fly of the year. It was his second homer in five games since the start of June. The 23-year-old former top prospect has played sparingly against left-handed starters this season, which makes it an encouraging development that he was able to take advantage of his opportunity here.

The Red Sox are set to face left-hander Trevor Rogers, so Mayer will head to the bench. Even with Trevor Story (abdominal) on the injured list, Mayer continues to sit against left-handed pitching. Today, Isiah Kiner-Falefa will play shortstop with Andruw Monasterio at second base despite Monasterio being just a career .249/.343/.380 hitter against left-handed pitching.

Mayer was one of the few bright spots for Boston in this one as he notched his second multi-hit effort in his last three games. The 23-year-old former top prospect has moved back to his natural defensive home at shortstop in the wake of Trevor Story’s absence and is starting to show some signs of life at the dish. He’s not going to be an impact fantasy contributor anytime soon, but it certainly qualifies as a positive development for the Red Sox if he settles in as their shortstop of the future and continues to improve as a hitter.

Marcelo draws his second consecutive start at shortstop after going 1-for-4 with an RBI during Sunday’s series finale against the Twins. The 23-year-old former top prospect will get an extended opportunity at his natural defensive home with veteran Trevor Story facing a lengthy absence following sports hernia surgery.

Mayer is expected to get an extended run at the position while Trevor Story (hernia) is sidelined. That makes a lot more sense than continuing to roll with some combination of Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Andruw Monasterio. The 23-year-old has really struggled offensively this season, slashing a meager .213/.278/.301 with two homers, 10 RBI and three stolen bases in 152 plate appearances.

Boston’s former top prospect will get his first chance at shortstop later this weekend and figures to get an extended run at the position with Trevor Story on the injured list recovering from sports hernia surgery. Ultimately, it didn’t make a lot of sense for the Red Sox to keep rolling with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Andruw Monasterio at the position with Story facing an extended absence. The 23-year-old was one of the top shortstop prospects in baseball before moving to third base last year.

It’s only the second time in 12 opportunities that Mayer has been in the lineup against a lefty this season. It’s notable considering that Trevor Story underwent sports hernia surgery on Thursday, which could sideline him for 6-10 weeks. Mayer has exclusively started at second base, but if he winds up shifting to shortstop, it would help to not be in a platoon. The 2021 No. 4 overall pick has two homers, three stolen bases, and just a .290 OBP this season.