As the Boston Red Sox prepare for the 2025 season, they have four top prospects who could be fighting for starting jobs early next year, including shortstop Marcelo Mayer.
Mayer, 21, was Boston's first-round pick in 2021 out of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California.
This past season, Mayer played 77 games for Double-A Portland, hitting .307 with an. 850 with eight home runs, 38 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He was promoted to Triple-A Worcester alongside other top prospects Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel, but for the second straight year, he missed considerable time with an injury.
If Mayer is going to be part of the Red Sox's plans for the future, he'll have to be on the field more than he has in recent years. However, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow isn't concerned with these issues.
“I don’t know what the number of injuries is before someone becomes kind of injury-prone,” Breslow said (via. MassLive). “At the same time, they (the injuries) seem to be unique. ... At least there doesn’t seem like there was a direct relationship between them.
“I think instead of focusing on the injuries, I would say that whatever training he did got him to a place where he was an incredibly productive player for a bulk of the season,” Breslow added. “Had more at-bats this year obviously than he had previously. And as a young player in Double-A, really opened eyes and turned heads. I think we saw the potential of the player that we thought we could get. So fully expect him to come into spring training completely healthy and continue to build on the progress he made this year."
Breslow could be talking up Mayer with the hopes of increasing his trade value, as Boston could be looking to send out position players for pitching this offseason.
If another team believes Mayer's injury concerns aren't going to be a consistent presence going forward, they may be willing to view him as the top piece in a package.
