Boston Red Sox

Boston continues to be gutted by injuries this season.

The Red Sox’ injury problems continue to get worse at the worst possible time.

Already struggling on the season and without its ace pitcher Garrett Crochet, Boston will now be out its top two young prospects in Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony for the near future.

Mayer is dealing with a forearm issue, according to Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. The severity is unclear, but it was enough to land him on the 10-day IL on Friday night.

In his place, Tsung-Che Cheng will make his season debut for Boston at shortstop against the Yankees.

Mayer isn’t having the best season offensively, but he’s been a lineup mainstay, first at second base for the Red Sox before transitioning back to shortstop, his Triple-A position. He filled the defensive void left by Trevor Story’s injury, save for a critical defensive error against the Rockies earlier in the week.

Boston is only just starting to get some of its reinforcements back from its injury-plagued 2026 season. Nate Eaton is back as a lineup option and Romy Gonzalez is working his way through scheduled rehab as well. But the status of Story, Anthony, and Crochet remains unclear. There’s been no news on Triston Casas’s injury, either. The once-promising slugger has missed large chunks of each of the last three seasons, and has yet to make his 2026 debut.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa is dealing with a similar injury to Mayer and is also out of the lineup currently, which led to Boston calling up Cheng.

Mayer being the latest Red Sox player to go down with an injury doesn’t help the team’s chances of staving off an all-out sell at the trade deadline, where they’re rumored to be shopping nearly all of their veterans, including future Hall of Fame closer Aroldis Chapman.

The only silver lining Boston may find in Mayer’s injury news is that it could give him a chance to reset without being benched or demoted to Triple-A. Mayer’s .220 batting average and 22 RBIs on the season aren’t particularly thrilling, and he’s only hit three home runs in 205 at-bats. Now he’ll get some mandatory rest and a chance to end the season on a higher note when he returns.

If Mayer’s forearm injury isn’t serious, he’s eligible to return as soon as Boston’s series against the White Sox July 7-9. But it could be longer than that if the issue hinders his ability to swing. The Red Sox already went through that with Anthony, who’s been out for nearly two months.