The Red Sox have made several expansions in recent years, but no infield signing appears imminent. Marcelo Mayer. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the club has not approached Mayer to discuss a long-term contract to date.
It might seem obvious to some that the Sox have no intention of locking up Mayer. He is still only 23 years old and has yet to find success in the major leagues. He appeared in 44 big league games last year, but hit only .228/.272/.402.
However, recently teams have been actively recruiting players to extend their early careers. The Sox have also generally shown a tendency to extend players regardless of experience, so the lack of progress here is notable.
According to MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, extensions for players with less than a year of service have become more common. (Link showing people with no service hours; Link showing some service hours) There were five from 2006 to 2016. There are 21 from 2017 to present, and 11 since July 2022.
The Red Sox were in on it. Roman Anthony, Christian Campbell and Sedan Raffaella It constitutes 3 of the 11 sets of data points. This represents 3 out of a total of 6 expansions. Craig Breslow He signed a contract after taking over as chief baseball officer. He also extended garrett crochet, Brayan Bello and Aroldis Chapman In transactions of various sizes.
Considering all of this, negotiating an extension makes sense, but I think the Sox would be better off waiting a little longer in this case. It could be health-related, as Meyer has had trouble staying on the field. He played five professional seasons, but was limited to more than 91 of them due to various ailments. His big league debut last year was cut short by right wrist issues that ultimately required surgery.
“(Getting stronger) will not only help him manage the workload of a full season, but it will also allow him to withstand the demands of a full season, which quite frankly is something he hasn’t been able to do,” Breslow said of Mayer last November. “And while some of them were kind of freak injuries, others were probably just an accumulation of workload.”
Despite the lack of contract talks, the Sox are showing faith in Mayer and appear to be planning for him to serve as their everyday second baseman this year. He was reportedly preferred as the third pick, but was later acquired. Caleb Durbin From the Brewers. Durbin and Mayer played second and third base this spring, but Durbin spent most of his time at third base last year.
“Caleb, he’s playing third base again today.” said the director. Alex Cora According to Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic this week: “There will probably be a decision next week, but I feel very comfortable with him at third base.” Cora hasn’t made any firm declarations, but it looks like Mayer will eventually get to the point.
If Meyer can stay healthy and have a breakout season in 2026, perhaps the Red Sox will be more willing to begin extension negotiations. His current service time is 128 days, which would be 1.128 if he earns a full service year in 2026. Players typically earn more as they accrue service time and get closer to free agency, but even in that scenario, Meyer would still be five years out on the open market and at least one year out of arbitration.
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