Marcelo

Mayer

Mayer has been battling the forearm issue for the past two months according to interim manager Chad Tracy and it finally got to the point where they had to shut him down. No word yet on how long he’ll be sidelined for, but they’ll take it “week to week”. Tsung-Che Cheng was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take his place on the club’s active roster.

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.

The Red Sox are set to face left-hander Trevor Rogers, so Mayer will head to the bench. Even with Trevor Story (abdominal) on the injured list, Mayer continues to sit against left-handed pitching. Today, Isiah Kiner-Falefa will play shortstop with Andruw Monasterio at second base despite Monasterio being just a career .249/.343/.380 hitter against left-handed pitching.

Story will likely be sidelined until at least late July after undergoing the procedure on May 22. The 33-year-old shortstop was playing through the injury for most of the season, which clearly had a negative impact on his production at the plate. It’ll be Marcelo Mayer and Isiah Kiner-Falefa handling shortstop in his absence until the second half of the year.