Red Sox place Marcelo Mayer (forearm) on 10-day IL

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 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.