Prized offseason acquisition Alex Bregman will be out longer than originally anticipated after suffering a right quad injury on Friday.
Bregman was originally thought to be experiencing quad tightness, and was removed in the 5th inning as a precautionary measure. However, additional testing has shown that the 31 year old has suffered a “significant” injury, and is likely headed for a stint on the injured listed.
“He’s going to be out for a while. Very similar to (his previous quad injury in) ’21,” manager Alex Cora told reporters following Boston’s 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles Saturday. “I’m not going to give you a timetable. Hopefully, our medical staff [will have him ready] sooner rather than later, but he will be out for a while.”
The 2021 injury which Cora alluded to ultimately ended up costing Bregman roughly 2 months of action.
In a corresponding move, Boston called up top prospect Marcelo Mayer from Triple-A Worcester. Although he’s a natural shortstop, he’s played six games at third in the minors, as the Red Sox were looking for ways to promote the 22 year old.
“We’ll play him everywhere,” Cora said of Mayer. “He can play second, he can play shortstop, he can play third.”
Mayer was selected 4th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft by Boston and has lived up to his draft pedigree throughout the minors. Currently hitting .271, with 9 HR, and 43 RBIs across 43 contests, the left handed bat is expected to be a key part of the Red Sox infield for years to come.
“It feels good. It’s something I worked for my whole life,” Mayer told reporters prior to his MLB debut at Fenway. “[Worcester manager Chad Tracy] brought me in, in the morning and told me I was scratched in the first game. Just to see what was going on [in Boston], then he brought me in a little later and said something of the lines of: ’You’ll play the second game but not here, you’re playing in Fenway.’”
“It was surreal,” Mayer said. “The emotions were still pretty high. It’s something that me and my family have worked toward since I ever started playing the game. It was a moment I definitely wanted to share with them before I got out to the media.”
Mayer didn’t have far to go, as Polar Park, home of Boston’s Triple-A affiliate Worcester, is a mere 44 miles from Fenway, making the call up a relatively seamless maneuver for the talented shortstop.
Mayer started game 2 of the double header at 3rd base, and is batting 6th for the Red Sox.
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