Red Sox minor-league notes: Marcelo Mayer injury update, Brainer Bonaci promotion and more

PORTLAND, Maine — It hasn’t been the smoothest transition to Double-A Portland for Red Sox top prospect Marcelo Mayer, but the shortstop is close to returning to the field after missing the past several days with an injury.

The 20-year-old was promoted to Double A on May 31 and showed glimpses of production at the plate, but has struggled for consistency while hitting .189 with a .609 OPS in 43 games. Though Mayer hit better in the month of July with a .232 average and .632 OPS than in June when he hit .186 with a .686 OPS, his first foray in Double A has been a challenge.

Part of the problem likely was left shoulder inflammation that landed him on the injury list on Aug. 3. Mayer attempted to play through the soreness, but ultimately decided he couldn’t push through much longer. After eight days of rest in addition to dry needle work to reduce inflammation, Mayer is starting to ramp back up and could return to the field for Portland in the next week or 10 days.

“Obviously he tried to play through and it wasn’t working,” Portland manager Chad Epperson told The Athletic. “I think he came to the realization, ‘I need help with this.’ He’s getting that help and feeling better every day. They’re doing some needle treatments and the next day after those, you’re really sore, so you’re taking a couple steps forward and one step back, but he is progressing.”

On Friday, Epperson hit grounders to Mayer at Hadlock Field for the first time since Mayer landed on the IL at the start of the month. Mayer has not yet started swinging a bat, but likely will within the next couple of days.

“I think he’s getting close,” Epperson said. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say a week or so, but I do know …we want to make sure we’re ahead of it to where when he does get back on the field this is not going to be an issue the next day.

“We just don’t want to do anything that’s going to aggravate or push him back a day or two so that’s the plan,” he added.

Mayer, who ranked 16th in Baseball America’s updated in-season rankings, began the year in High-A Greenville, where he hit .290 with an .890 OPS in 35 games. Even outside of the injury, the struggles in Double A aren’t overly concerning given he’s still one of the five youngest hitters in the Eastern League. The small sample size of roughly 40 games, broken up by the All-Star break, in which he flew to Seattle and back to play in the All-Star Futures Game, likely all play into the inconsistencies.

“I know we had a long road trip mileage-wise,” Epperson said. “When you’re on the bus and trying to get comfortable or maybe if he did it sliding. I do know you could tell from the third-base box, his swing was not what we had seen when he first got up here and we wanted to make sure we got out in front of it as much as possible.”

More minor-league notes

While Mayer has been on the injury list, the Red Sox promoted infielder Brainer Bonaci to Double-A Portland. In four games, the 20-year-old switch-hitter has gone 5-for-16 and has been filling in at shortstop with Mayer out.

The plan for Bonaci, who signed as an international free agent in 2018, is to play more second base and third base when Mayer does return, and that defensive flexibility is something Bonaci has been developing more over the past season with so many infielders in the Red Sox’s system.

Last season, Bonaci played 57 games at second, 31 at shortstop and 10 at third for Single-A Salem. This season, when starting out at High-A Greenville, he played 33 games at short and 20 at second with a handful of games elsewhere around the field.

“I’m good in the infield and I can play second base because Marcelo is the priority for the team (at shortstop), I know,” Bonaci said. “I play second and third and I don’t have a problem with that. I just play and want to support the team.”

Epperson has the challenge of mixing and matching all of his infielders with Mayer, Bonaci, Nick Yorke and Chase Meidroth to ensure playing time, but doesn’t see it as a problem so much as an opportunity.

“I think it starts with our scouting department where, yeah this kid may be a shortstop, but we love the athleticism and we strongly feel he could move to a corner infield spot, center field, third base, second,” Epperson said. “I think it gives an organization so many doors to open up.

“We all know there’s a trade every year,” he added, “not that we want to trade our guys, but they may help us with a big piece that we may need at the big league level, too.”

In Greenville, Bonaci hit .301 with an .825 OPS over 63 games. In 65 games as a right-handed hitter facing lefties, he’s hit .280 with a .788 OPS, but in 19 games from the left side against right-handed pitching, he’s hitting .417 with a 1.099 OPS. Seven of his 10 homers and all 15 of his doubles have come from the right side.

“I’m naturally a righty,” he said. “I learned left when I was 10 years old, so I think I have more power on the right because it’s more natural for me, but I’m working on both sides.”

In all four games for Portland, Bonaci has led off for the Sea Dogs and given a spark to the lineup with his athleticism, despite not possessing standout speed.

“There’s some energy he brings right off the bat,” Epperson said. “He’s competed very well in his at-bats and making good swings decisions, getting on base. The first night I played him at short, last night at second, there is versatility and we will play him at third. He’s a gifted player and I think his ability to switch hit, play multiple positions is going to keep him in this game for a long time.

• Red Sox 2023 first-rounder Kyle Teel is making quite an early impression. In his first five games, the 21-year-old has already been promoted from the Florida Complex League to Single-A Greenville, while going 9-for-17 with a double and a homer and driving in seven runs.

Baseball America ranked Teel 95th in their updated top 100 prospects list and noted that Teel could move through the system quickly because of his polished approach at the plate.

Kyle Teel did it all last night!

He finished 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and caught a runner stealing in his debut with the @GreenvilleDrive. pic.twitter.com/nWutm3RQdn

— Red Sox Player Development (@RedSoxPlayerDev) August 9, 2023

• Also in Greenville, right-hander Noah Song registered his first appearance with the Red Sox since rejoining the organization. Song had been selected by the Phillies in the Rule 5 Draft in December and the Phillies attempted to keep him on their active roster this summer, despite the fact Song hadn’t pitched in four years while in Naval flight school. The Phillies released Song two weeks ago after he spent the summer on an accelerated path in their farm system attempting to get ready for the big-league roster, but the Phillies ran out of time.

In two scoreless innings for Greenville, the first time he pitched in the Red Sox since he was drafted in 2019, the 26-year-old struck out three, walked one and hit a batter. He threw 15 of 28 pitches for strikes.

Welcome to Greenville, Noah Song!

He ends his first inning of relief with a K. pic.twitter.com/nVOj0V1QTQ

— Ranas de Rio de Greenville (@GreenvilleDrive) August 10, 2023

(Photo of Marcelo Mayer: Cliff Welch / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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