BOSTON — Rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer hoped to get back on the field to help the Red Sox in their final push for the playoffs.
Instead, he will undergo season-ending surgery on his ailing right wrist in the coming days, something that felt inevitable to the 22-year-old at times over the last month, but also something he was trying to avoid.
From what Mayer has been told, it is about a three-month recovery from surgery to being fully ready to play baseball. He expects to be a full-go for Spring Training.
“I gave it my all,” said Mayer. “Obviously with my options given, I could’ve had surgery when I first injured it or got the [cortisone] shot and tried to do everything I can for the slight chance to come back and play [this season]. Obviously, I’m very sad about what’s going on, and I want to play. I want to help the team win. But that’s just the hand I’m dealt right now.”
In the 44th and ultimately final game of his first Major League season on July 23, Mayer felt discomfort in his wrist on a swing in Boston’s eventual 9-8 win in Philadelphia and had to come out during that game.
The part of the wrist he injured is the TFCC (Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex), which keeps the joint stabilized. Mayer previously dealt with this injury in his first full pro season of 2022.
“When I hurt it [in Philadelphia], It didn’t feel good by any means,” said Mayer. “I hurt it in ‘22. I got a cortisone shot in ‘22. Usually when you get a cortisone shot, the injury comes back later on. So I knew eventually I was going to need to do something with my wrist. I knew that was definitely going to be on the table.”
Mayer’s last attempt at salvaging his season came around Aug. 1, when he had an anti-inflammatory injection.
He hoped that would alleviate the discomfort enough that he could get back on the field to help the Red Sox. But not much changed. The most he could tolerate was playing catch and taking dry swings.
“When they were on the road in San Diego, [the wrist] felt fine [throwing] at 60 feet,” Mayer said. “Once I got farther than that, I couldn’t really do much. And then as far as swinging goes, like, doing dry swings even hurt. So there’s really not much room to give. The shot really didn’t do much. I had a few good days, and then we kind of hit a wall. But we kept trying to work at it and get it stronger, but nothing really helped.”
Unfortunately for Mayer, this is the third straight year his season ended in July or early August.
Mayer missed the final two months of the ‘23 season with left shoulder inflammation and didn’t play after July 31 last year with a lumbar strain. He battled a back issue and the aforementioned wrist ailment in his first full season in ‘22.
The Red Sox were thrilled Mayer was still on the board when they made him the No. 4 overall pick in the 2021 Draft. But since his pro career began, his biggest obstacle has been health. Mayer’s career high in games in a season is 91 back in ‘22.
“It sucks as an athlete and somebody who loves this game so much,” Mayer said. “It’s frustrating. And obviously things like that happen in baseball. I’m just trying to stay optimistic and will get after it this offseason and come back stronger.”
After a strong start for Triple-A Worcester, Mayer’s dream of making it to the Major Leagues came true when he got the call to Fenway for the second game of a doubleheader on May 24. Alex Bregman suffered a severe right quad strain the day before that. Mayer, a natural shortstop, held down third base for Boston until Bregman’s earlier-than-expected return on July 11.
Once Bregman returned, Mayer was used as a platoon player at second base until the wrist injury.
In his initiation to the Major Leagues, Mayer’s defensive prowess stood out even as his bat (.228/.272/.402, four homers, 10 RBIs in 136 plate appearances), remained a work in progress. He will continue his assimilation to the highest competition in the world next season.
“As far as being in the big leagues, it’s the best job in the world,” Mayer said. “It’s everything I ever wanted. And when you have a team like this, it makes coming to the field so easy, which makes getting injured that much worse, because you just want to be out there playing with your buddies. I’m just going to try to work hard every single day and get my wrists in a position so this doesn’t happen again.”
