Yet you still see his name mentioned as a trade chip because he was the fourth pick of the 2021 draft and is only 23.
But counting games at all levels, Mayer has averaged only 81 a season since 2022, topping out at 91 in 2022. That could change if he returns this season, but Mayer needs to shake the label of not being able to stay on the field.
Remember back in spring training when Alex Cora wouldn’t say Mayer had made the team until the final few days of camp? The former manager was criticized in some circles for being too tough on Mayer. Turns out he was on to something, and the Sox have dedicated much of their trade deadline work to finding a shortstop.
If Mayer has any trade value at this stage, it would be as a throw-in.
The ’21 draft was a mess. Caleb Durbin, a 14th-round pick, has been worth more bWAR than all but six position players taken ahead of him.
Roman Anthony made his debut 16 days after Mayer, and the hype was doubled. He has been a solid offensive player since, hitting .273 with an .804 OPS. But Anthony has played only 101 of a possible 204 regular-season games since that debut because of oblique and wrist injuries.
He has started swinging at balls off a tee. That’s the first of several steps needed before he returns, assuming he does.
A few other observations on the Red Sox:
▪ Chad Tracy, Kevin Cash, and Will Venable are the favorites for American League manager of the year, per the Vegas sports books. The last-to-first White Sox have been a great story, but if Tracy guides Boston to a postseason berth after being 32-46 on June 24, how does he not win?
The Sox had 24 sacrifices through 109 games — 22 of them since Tracy became manager. Only three other teams have more this season. It’s the most for the Sox since they had 30 in 2015.
That the Sox would turn to small ball to help save a lost season is not something anybody could have expected.
▪ The Sox have a favorable schedule the rest of the season. Starting Tuesday, they have 27 home games and 24 road games. Only three — at Texas Sept. 15-17 — are out of the Eastern time zone.
These days, most every team is at least a wild-card contender. But 15 of their last 51 games are against the Angels, Athletics, Giants, Marlins, and Royals.
▪ The Sox haven’t made too many mistakes with pitchers the last few years, but they sure got it wrong with Sean Newcomb.
The lefthander from Middleboro has a 2.35 ERA and 1.10 WHIP over 111 innings and 76 games with the Athletics and White Sox since the Sox designated him for assignment on May 24, 2025.
Newcomb pitched well for the Sox in 12 games after being signed as a minor league free agent and making the team out of spring training. But he was let go to make a roster spot for Luis Guerrero, who’s now pitching poorly for the Rays in Triple-A.
▪ Lou Merloni and Orel Hershiser join Jason Benetti for the Sox-Dodgers game on NBC on Sunday night. Clayton Kershaw will be part of the broadcast, too.
Merloni is carving out a solid television career after departing the toxic world of sports talk radio. He puts in the time, too, working the clubhouse before games and talking to the coaches quite a bit.
▪ Johnny Damon is among the players scheduled to attend Yankees Old-Timers’ Day on Aug. 8. Damon has split his allegiances between the Sox and Yankees in retirement. He played four seasons for each team.
▪ Jeff, a reader from Quincy who now lives in Atlanta, emailed with a nice story. His 16-year-old son, Liam, has Hunter Syndrome and has some symptoms similar to autism.
Liam is a big fan of former Sox infielder Bobby Dalbec. Coincidentally, Jeff attended a business dinner a few months ago and met somebody friendly with Dalbec’s parents.
They got to talking about Liam, and last week a package arrived with a No. 29 Yomiuri Giants jersey signed by Dalbec and a photo of him holding the jersey. Liam was thrilled.
Dalbec is playing in Japan this season and has a team-high 17 homers.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social.
