Top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer has been placed on Triple-A Worcester’s 7-day injured list with low back inflammation, as was first reported by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Mayer is dealing with a lower back and upper glute muscle issue that has kept him sidelined for the last three weeks. The 21-year-old shortstop was promoted from Double-A Portland to Worcester alongside fellow top prospects Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel last Monday but has not yet appeared in a game for the WooSox.
Originally selected by the Red Sox with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft out of Eastlake High School (Chula Vista, Calif.), Mayer is currently ranked by Baseball America as the No. 1 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 10 prospect in the sport. He has represented the organization by suiting up for the American League in each of the last two All-Star Futures Games.
In 77 games for Portland this season, the left-handed hitting Mayer batted .307/.370/.480 with 28 doubles, eight home runs, 38 RBIs, 60 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, 30 walks, and 66 strikeouts over 335 plate appearances. He spent nine days (August 1-10) on the Sea Dogs’ injured list before being activated and joining the WooSox at Polar Park last Tuesday.
“I’m feeling much better,” Mayer told reporters (including Speier) that same afternoon. “My lower back and my upper glute was just bothering me a little bit. I missed a week in Somerset due to pec soreness and then my back kind of flared up on me. So we’ve just kind of been being cautious with it. Don’t want to play when my back is hurt and then I end up getting more hurt than I need to, so we’ve just been taking it pretty slow, but I feel good.”
As noted by Speier, the decision to place Mayer on the injured list was made in part to create an opening on Worcester’s roster. Still, the fact of the matter is that Mayer is facing yet another lengthy late-season absence due to injury. He missed the final six weeks of the 2023 campaign with a left shoulder impingement.
