Red Sox place Marcelo Mayer on IL with wrist sprain, recall infielder from Triple-A, Breslow rejects Padres trade offer for Jarren Duran

The Red Sox placed rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer on the injured list with a right wrist sprain. To fill his spot on the roster, the club recalled infielder David Hamilton from Triple-A Worcester.

Mayer described his injury as “a tight grab” on a swing during his second at-bat in the Red Sox’ 9-8 extra-innings win over the Phillies on Wednesday night.

Mayer was seen wearing a light brace on his right wrist in Philadelphia and was recently photographed wearing a splint.

“I just felt a little tight grab in my wrist when I took a swing in my second at-bat,” Mayer said. “I knew I really couldn’t do anything after that, so I just called it (a game).”

“I don’t know right now,” he said. “I just iced it. It feels in some pain, but hopefully it’s not too serious and I can get back on the field soon.”

The severity of Mayer’s injury is unknown, but the team had him undergo an MRI on Thursday, and he is weighing a second opinion, according to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo.

Mayer told reporters on Friday that there are no broken bones, nor is this a hamate issue he’s dealing with, but called the timing of his injury “brutal.”

“It’s brutal,” the rookie said. “Obviously this is not a spot I want to be in; I want to be out there playing every day, trying to help the team win. As an athlete, all we want to do is play and go out there and just do what we do best, so it’s super frustrating.”

The 22-year-old made his big league debut back on May 24 when the Red Sox placed All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman on the injured list with a quad strain. When Bregman came off the IL, Boston kept Mayer on the 26-man roster and optioned Hamilton to the WooSox.

Hamilton played in four games with the WooSox since returning to the minors on July 11 and went 3-for-17 (.176) with a triple and a stolen base. While with the Red Sox this season, he’s shown no life at the plate, hitting just .179 with three homers and 12 RBI and owning a .505 OPS. The versatile infielder made 29 starts at second base and six at shortstop for the Sox.

“We’ve got Hammy and we trust him,” said Alex Cora, “and I don’t want to take away from what (Rafaela) is doing in center field. But we have Jarren (Duran) and you saw what he did last year (in center).”

Cora also acknowledged that Duran has been better in center field. 

“He’s done it before and we trust him,” said Cora of Duran patrolling center. “As the great Tito Francona used to say ‘These things have a way of working themselves out.’ Hate it that it’s worked out this way (with the loss of Mayer). But Masa (Yoshida), instead of platooning, he can play against righties. We can play Roman (Anthony) in the outfield and maximize the roster.”

With Mayer on the shelf, the Sox will turn to Romy Gonzalez, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Hamilton to play second base. Gonzalez can fill in at the position when the club plays Abraham Toro at first base. 

“We’ll use Hammy the right way,” said Cora. “Obviously, he impacts the game defensively and baserunning-wise late in games. Hopefully, we can get him going offensively. That would be great for us because then we can take care of guys. Trevor (Story) has only had two off days the whole season. Alex, we’ll still have to take care of. How are we going to do that now because Marcelo was the other third baseman?

“There’s a lot of moving parts right now, but let’s take care of today, the series and then, whenever we get there, we get there.”

If Mayer is lost for an extended period of time, Craig Breslow will need to address the right side of the infield. Boston still has rookie Kristian Campbell and forgotten infielder Vaughn Grissom in Worcester and could be a platoon with Gonzalez if the Sox add a first baseman. Nick Sogard is another option and offers the Sox versatility at multiple positions, and he is a switch hitter.

PITCHING PROBLEMS

The Red Sox pitching depth keeps taking hits.

Left-hander Patrick Sandoval has been rehabbing back from Tommy John surgery and was hoping to return this season. Sandoval hasn’t been progressing as the club has hoped, and he’s stopped throwing bullpen sessions. The southpaw is playing catch, but his return to the mound this season is in jeopardy.

Boston is already without righties Hunter Dobbins (ACL) and Kutter Crawford (wrist) for the rest of the season. Tanner Houck was placed back on the injured list after he was eligible to come off right before the start of the second half of the season.

Cora said Sandoval didn’t suffer a setback.

“But he wasn’t moving the way he was moving early, so right now we’re just playing catch and doing the things he needs to do to keep the arm going,” Cora said Friday. “But not throwing bullpens. Just kind of slow down the pace.”

At some point, the Sox can turn to Kyle Harrison, who has remained in the minors after he was acquired in the Rafael Devers swap on Father’s Day. Cooper Criswell is another internal option that can fill in as needed down the stretch.

The club is in need of another starter and reportedly turned down a trade from the Padres to acquire Dylan Cease. According to MassLive’s Sean McAdam, the Sox turned down a deal that would have sent Duran to the Padres for Cease, top catching prospect Ethan Salas, and another prospect.

"The Red Sox have signaled interest in Dylan Cease, who would be a rental,” McAdam reported. “The Padres, in their never-ending quest to acquire Duran, proposed a package involving Cease, catching prospect Ethan Salas, and another prospect (not shortstop Leo de Vries) for Duran, which was quickly rejected."

Padres general manager A.J. Preller has been enamored with landing Duran from the Red Sox.

The Red Sox, lacking a clear starter for the future, could find Preller's offer of Salas intriguing. The 19-year-old has been out of action with a stress fracture in his back, effectively decreasing his value. Boston may be hoping to acquire prospect Vries through a Duran trade, but it appears the Padres are hesitant to part with the infielder.

It doesn’t appear the Red Sox are afraid to move Duran, and according to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the club is “believed” to want to move the speedy outfielder in the offseason.

Cease would immediately improve the Sox’ rotation, but is a free agent at the end of the season. The Sox have reportedly been looking to add someone with team control if they were to deal Duran.