After a middling 8-10 start, the Boston Red Sox have caught fire in the last week.
The Sox have won six of their last seven games to climb within a half-game of the first-place New York Yankees. At the heart of the turnaround is Trevor Story, the much-maligned shortstop who has missed most of the first three years of his six-year, $140 million contract with injury. Fully recovered from a shoulder injury that wiped out most of his 2024 season, Story has played his best baseball since his days with the Colorado Rockies, leading the team with a .319 batting average, five home runs and six stolen bases, all while stabilizing the defense with his usual dependable defense.
While Story’s bounceback is a welcome sign for the 2025 Red Sox, it leaves one of their top prospects in something of a predicament. Shortstop Marcelo Mayer has steadily climbed the prospect ranks since being selected 4th overall in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft, and though he has been slowed a bit by injuries, he made a strong case for an Opening Day roster spot with a strong spring training. Though he was ultimately optioned back to Triple-A and got off to a slow start, Mayer has picked up steam in the last week, batting .400 with three home runs and an incredible 14 RBI over his last four games.
It won’t take long for Mayer to be ready for a major-league call-up, but the bigger question is what position he will play. Story is firmly entrenched at shortstop, third baseman Alex Bregman has been everything the Red Sox could have hoped for after signing a three-year,$120 million contract this winter, and second baseman Kristian Campbell looks like the early American League Rookie of the Year favorite with a .300 batting average and .881 OPS through his first 23 MLB games. While the offensive struggles of centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela may open the door for number-one prospect Roman Anthony, ESPN’s David Schoenfield believes that the Red Sox infield logjam could lead the Red Sox to move Mayer for some starting pitching help.
“The rotation depth is thin and most of Boston’s top prospects are position players,” wrote Schoenfield. “Roman Anthony is a nonstarter, but maybe Mayer? Trevor Story is still under contract for two more years after all.”
As Schoenfield notes, the Red Sox rotation after ace Garrett Crochet has been a weakness thus far, especially with the struggles of 2024 All-Star Tanner Houck. The returns of Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, and Kutter Crawford should help, but given the Red Sox have an offense capable of making a deep postseason run, they should be aggressive to add a legitimate second option to pair with Crochet, and moving Mayer could help they get one.
The biggest name on the trade market is expected to be former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, but given how much he has struggled in his return from Tommy John Surgery, the Red Sox may look to aim higher if they are giving up one of baseball’s top prospects. Perhaps Minnesota Twins ace Pablo López or one of the Seattle Mariners’ collection of young arms could be a more attractive option.
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