Red Sox infielder Marcelo Mayer is lobbying for some shortstop time, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. Whether or not he gets the chance seemingly depends on how much time Trevor Story is going to miss.
Story has been battling a sports hernia this year and landed on the injured list in recent days. If he undergoes surgery, he’ll miss two months or so, though it’s still not a guarantee that he will go under the knife.
Mayer came up as a shortstop in the minors and also dabbled at second and third base. He has only played the keystone this year and hasn’t even been working out at short, though in the wake of Story’s injury, he plans to start practicing there. He has told manager Chad Tracy that he would like to help the team by moving across the bag. The skipper seems open to it if Story is going to be out a while, though he leans toward keeping Mayer at second if Story is slated for a quicker return.
It’s an understandable position for Tracy. Mayer only played 84 innings at second base in the minors and is still getting accustomed to the position. He is also still young at 23 years old and hasn’t fully clicked as a major league hitter yet, sporting a career line of .223/.278/.359. Mayer was once one of the club’s top prospects and the Sox presumably still hope for him to be a big part of the future, as he is under control for five more seasons after this one. There’s some logic in keeping him with his current plan and not adding a new assignment to his to-do list for just a brief interlude.
Since Story has been sidelined, the Sox have primarily been using Andruw Monasterio at short. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Sogard could also chip in at the position if Mayer is going to be staying at the keystone.
There’s also a situation to watch behind the plate, as Healey notes Carlos Narváez is dealing with an injury to the middle finger on his right hand. Though Narváez says the finger went “a little sideways,” X-rays were negative and he may avoid the injured list. The injury first popped up after a slide and then was aggravated when Narváez hit a ball off the end of his bat.
Most clubs have two catchers on the roster, so it would be a bit risky to proceed with one of them unavailable due to a day-to-day injury. However, the Sox currently have three backstops on the roster, with Mickey Gasper and Connor Wong also present. Gasper has been getting some at-bats as the designated hitter lately and perhaps that would become less likely if Narváez is unavailable. If Boston wants Gasper’s bat in the lineup, they could put him behind the plate while Narváez is hurt, perhaps opening more DH time for Masataka Yoshida.
Turning to the rotation, Chris Cotillo of MassLive suggests that Brayan Bello may get squeezed out of the rotation soon. The righty is having an awful season, with a 7.16 earned run average through 44 innings. The Sox used an opener in front of him for his first two appearances in May, which went well. He only allowed one run in each, going seven innings in the first outing and then 6 1/3 the second time. He got used as a traditional starter again yesterday but allowed seven earned runs in five innings.
Cotillo notes that Garrett Crochet is expected to come off the injured list around the end of this month, which could lead to Bello losing his spot since his rotation mates are faring much better than him. Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle all have ERAs of 3.21 or lower this year.
Though he signed a multi-year extension with the Sox, Bello does have options and could be sent to the minors if the Sox decide that’s what’s best for him and the team. Pitching from the bullpen could be another possibility, though the club may want to think about the long term. Bello is signed through 2029 with a club option for 2030. Assuming the hope is that he will still be a part of the rotation for years to come, keeping him stretched out may be preferable. On the other hand, he hasn’t been optioned to the minors since April of 2023 and clubs are sometimes reluctant to send guys down after they have seemingly become established as big leaguers.
Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images
