Marcelo Mayer sits due to illness on Friday

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.

Rutschman takes a seat, along with Mickey Gasper and Jarren Duran with the Red Sox rolling out a righty-heavy lineup against Angels southpaw Reid Detmers. It’ll be lefty-mashers Jahmai Jones and Andruw Monasterio getting into the lineup with Connor Wong behind the plate. The 28-year-old backstop has been playing through a lingering elbow issue since early September, but it hasn’t forced him to miss too much time.

Since the All-Star break, Gasper is hitting .327/.514/.865 with eight home runs, 12 runs scored, and 15 RBI. Despite being a switch-hitter, Gasper will get a day off against lefty Reid Detmers, with Nick Sogard playing first base and batting fifth and Andruw Monasterio starting at second base and batting seventh.

It doesn’t sound like Adames will require surgery to address the issue, but he’s headed for a second opinion before that decision is made. It certainly seems like his season is over. The 30-year-old hit the shelf with an elbow sprain earlier this week. It’ll most likely be Christian Koss filling in at shortstop until trade deadline acquisition Marcelo Mayer is ready to return from the injured list.

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.

Story added that he’s feels fine from a physical standpoint after kicking off a minor league rehab assignment over the weekend. The 33-year-old veteran shortstop has missed the entirety of Boston’s remarkable midseason turnaround while recovering from sports hernia surgery. It sounds like he could return later this week after getting a few additional rehab games under his belt. Andruw Monasterio has done a remarkable job handling shortstop for the Red Sox over the last few weeks.

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.

Monasterio led off the 10th with his sixth homer of the year. There was certainly no plan for him becoming Boston’s starting shortstop at the beginning of the year, but he’s been quite valuable in hitting .259/.320/.459 in 204 plate appearances. Barring a big trade acquisition, he should continue to play regularly until Trevor Story returns and maybe beyond that.