Rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right wrist sprain by the Boston Red Sox on Friday.
Mayer, 22, sustained the injury in Wednesday’s 9-8 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. He drew a two-out walk against Jesús Luzardo in the fifth inning, but hurt his wrist while swinging and missing at a slider during the at-bat.
He didn’t come out of the game immediately, running the bases and coming around to score on a Romy González grand slam. But Abraham Toro took over at third base in the bottom of the inning.
“I just felt a little tight grab in my wrist when I took a swing in my second at-bat,” Mayer told MassLive’s Chris Cotillo afterward. “I knew I really couldn’t do anything after that so I just called it.”
A natural shortstop, Mayer has mostly played third base while Alex Bregman was on the IL with a right quad strain. He’s also played at second base and made a couple of appearances at shortstop during his 44 games. Mayer was Boston’s 2021 first-round pick (No. 4 overall) and was called up on May 25 when Bregman went on the IL.
Ranked as the Red Sox’s No. 3 prospect before the season by MLB.com. Mayer has struggled with his hitting as a rookie, batting .228/.272/.402 with eight doubles, four home runs and 10 RBI in 136 plate appearances.
Infielder David Hamilton was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take Mayer’s spot on the active roster. He was on the major league roster until Bregman was activated from the IL on July 11. Hamilton’s best asset is his speed with 15 stolen bases in 18 attempts. He batted .179/.229/.276 in 133 plate appearances before being demoted.
Bregman (.290 avg., .899 OPS) will start at third base for the Red Sox on Friday’s series opener versus the Los Angeles Dodgers with Ceddanne Rafaela (.270 avg., .780 OPS) playing at second base. Boston is currently third in the AL East at 55-49, 6.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays (61-42) and two games behind the second-place New York Yankees (56-46).
